Violette Foncé
by ChiChi May
Summary: Two families fight for supremecy, but the battle lies truly in the hands of their heirs. ET
1. Deux

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS

**ChiChi's Note: I'm just going to put this up so that no one gets the same idea and posts it before I post this hehehe. I keep thinking about this plot in my head and this is the only way to get it out of my head once and for all. I'm gonna write all the titles in French because this takes place in Europe and yeah… Okay, Enjoy! And this is AU for a certain reviewer who tends to bug me.**

_Deux_

_Power in our hearts creates a hole, it continues 'till we lose control. _Two families dominated Europe but refused to coexist together in peace. In attempts to gain superiority, they secretly took drastic and vicious measures. The only thing keeping them from completely annihilating each other were the mothers of each family. The only pure bond between them, but they were rather old now and would soon die. They needed another bond to keep all hell from breaking loose.

* * *

Violet eyes. That's what she saw the world through. A young girl of six years old. So innocent; so naïve. She never saw the true violence in her family, instead, she thought of her family as a rather religious family, never missing one Sunday morning mass, always praying every time they had diner. In her eyes, her family was the most generous family in the world. She was from the Daidouji family, and she and her cousins, Touya and Sakura, were to inherit the Daidouji fortune according to their grandmother. She didn't see her parents much, which caused her to live with her grandmother. She pretended to be happy for the sake of her grandmother but it was no use. Soon enough, her loneliness devoured her and she no longer spoke to anyone. Her name was Tomoyo. 

Azure eyes. That's what he witnessed in the world through. A young boy of seven years old. So cold-hearted; so corrupted. He watched his family destroy Europe and commit unforgivable acts. He didn't think of his family as religious, instead, he thought of them as fakes, never missing one Sunday morning mass, pretending to understand the teachings, praying before every diner, but never meaning the words coming from their mouths. In his eyes, his family was the most sinful family in the world. He was from the Hiiragizawa family, and he and his many relatives from the Li Clan were to inherit the Hiiragizawa fortune according to their grandmother. He saw his parents too much that it disgusted him and made him run away, causing him to live with his grandmother. There he was somewhat happy, but his family insisted that he would assist them in their many crimes. Soon enough, the influence of his family affected him and he became all torn up on the inside but still happy on the outside. His name was Eriol.

**ChiChi's Note: Okay so that's that. It may not truly make any sense right now. For some reason, this is sort of giving me the sense of Romeo and Juliet with a twist, but do not fret, it won't be anything like it. I'm going to update regularly with this one as well so tell me what you think of it kay! REVIEW SVP!**

Next chapter: _Je m'appelle…_


	2. Je m'appelle

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS

**ChiChi's Note: Okay, I had to write this chapter three times then I took parts from each version and put them in this chapter. Anyways, this is just a formality for the two main characters, nothing big. I apologize for updating so late and I believe I covered everything… Okay enjoy!**

Je m'appelle…

"You wanna' get married?" asked the seven-year-old boy laid down on the fresh green grass outside of the church casting a look over to his companion.

Eriol sat with a girl that he had met countless of times while waiting for his mother to finish her confession to the priest. She only nodded in response and never spoke a word. He believed that she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life. Her eyes were just like stunning amethysts that shone with joy whenever she smiled and she had long silky hair that flowed down to her waist. She had skin like porcelain or those glass dolls that his grandmother collected and had a smile that would always make him forget that he didn't care for the world and all of its sinful ways. At the moment, she cocked her head to the side at his question. She then blushed and stared at the ground. Eriol had always wondered what went through her mind. He went with his instincts and figured that she was confused about what he meant, "We're playing a game. Pretend that we're inside the church and you're wearing a white dress okay?"

She picked a dandelion off of the ground and smiled at him. She walked towards him then stopped. Eriol recited every line that he could remember from the ceremonies that he had been to then stopped, "I'm supposed to give you a ring but I don't have one… so I'll give you one when I find one, okay?"

She nodded then gave him an innocent peck on the lips, like one a child would give a parent. The two children laughed at their game. They were now "married." "Eriol. What in heaven's name are you doing?" a soft voice questioned.

He spun around to find his mother standing behind him. His mother had black hair that was always pinned up and a crown of black pearls went around her head with a black veil hanging upon it. She stood with elegance and appeared to be ever so graceful in her black dress that swooped outwards once it touched the ground. She walked calmly to the two children and turned her head to the little girl. The girl stared back at the queen of the Hiiragizawa Empire with awe. She curtsied, her knees almost touching the ground, in great respect for the woman before her. Eriol's mother placed a hand upon his head and unexpectedly slapped the girl across the face with the other. Eriol gasped and stared and the girl who looked up at his mother with tear-stung eyes. "Stay away from my son," his mother proclaimed silently, "A filthy Daidouji like you is not welcome in our presence."

Eriol's heart stopped, _She… she's a Daidouji? How could she be?_ He felt hurt and betrayed, but most of all embarrassed. It was a feeling that he resented. His mother's hand left his head, "Come Eriol, our carriage is waiting."

He stared at her for a moment; tears streamed from her eyes. "I can't play with you anymore," he whispered in pain gaining a shocked look from the girl, "Because you're a Daidouji and I'm a Hiiragizawa."

* * *

Years passed by since Eriol had ever thought about becoming friends with another person. Only the people in his family were lucky enough to get close to him. He had now become well aware of the rules in the family and never looked at a Daidouji unless it was necessary, not after that incident. He always seemed happy with his life, even if deep down, he hated it, for on this day he was finally thirteen. He had outgrown his foolish ways and was now ready to begin preparations to take over the family according to his father. He leaned against the railing of the patio trying to clear his head from all of the things that were happening. Laughter filled the halls inside his grandmother's house. This social gathering was a celebration of his birthday. Social gatherings were the only nights where the Daidouji family and his family would act civilized in the same building. In spite of the night's festivities, tonight was going to be his first "job." Before the party, his father had given him an envelope. Inside was a rather feminine ring made of silver and a diamond embedded into it; engraved on the inside was the Hiiragizawa crest. The ring was still too big for anyone of his age so it remained on a gold chain, and there was also a letter. It read:

_My dear son,_

_Tonight is the night you become a true Hiiragizawa. It is the time to take responsibility for this family and show everyone what kind of leader you shall be. Meet your cousin outside the Daidouji Manor at exactly eleven. Fail me and suffer the consequences. This ring is a gift to you which you shall give to your future wife. Keep this throughout your years and when you finally find a worthy spouse, this shall be what binds you to her. I have faith that you shall be the perfect heir to this family._

_Your father_

Eriol snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a commotion from behind him. A group of girls were chattering away at one certain girl. "Why doesn't she talk?"

"It's because she's weird, that's why."

"Don't talk like that! Her family will destroy yours."

"Of course not. She doesn't speak so it's only natural that she will not tell her family."

"She doesn't seem worthy to be in that kind of a family."

"Get away from us!"

A girl his age ran out onto the patio crying. Eriol moved away from the railing and walked over to her. She blindly ran into him and fell backwards. He swiftly caught her in his arms then gave a relieved sigh, "Are you alright Miss?"

He took a look at her face and nearly dropped her. The girl stared at him with a horrified look on her face. She quickly wiggled out of his arms and stepped away from him. It was a Daidouji. She looked familiar but he couldn't quite put his finger on where he knew her. She nervously took another step back. Eriol smirked and returned to leaning on the railing, "It's okay; I won't kill you or anything."

There was silence from the girl. He glanced over his shoulder, "You should ignore those girls. They're just second-class trash compared to us. What's your name?"

There was silence again. Eriol twitched under the awkwardness of the situation. He abandoned his rail again and circled around the Daidouji girl taking in every detail about her, "I honestly don't understand. How could I be forbidden to be near a person so harmless? It's all so illogical. Our families are so annoying; I hate it."

He stopped in front of her and crossed his arms, "But what would you care, right? You don't even seem to know what's going on."

"You want to know the truth?" he enquired nonchalantly, receiving a nod from her, "If I were not on my own property, I could easily be shot if I even laid a finger on you. Our families have been at war for ages and it won't stop until one of the families become the most dominant power in Europe. It's sad, no?"

She stared at the ground for the moment then opened her mouth to say something. The clock bell rang eleven times signalling Eriol to leave. "My apologies my dear enemy but I have a rendezvous with my cute little cousin," he bowed his head politely and ran off to the Daidouji Manor.

* * *

Sweat fell from Eriol's brow as they hid in the dark corner of an office. Beside him was his cousin, Syaoran, peeking out to check the door. The pushed themselves further into the shadows as a man entered the room. Syaoran smirked and clenched his fists, slowly separating from Eriol. "Don't chicken out of me this time you idiot," he whispered.

Syaoran tackled the man to the ground and covered his mouth as much as possible to keep his shouts from getting out of the room. Papers flew everywhere off the desk and the man fought back, pushing Syaoran against the drawers. Eriol ran out of the shadows and quickly grabbed a pair of scissors placed conveniently at the edge of the desk. He opened it and sliced the man's wrist. He gave a muffled cry and went to grab his wrist. Eriol stepped on his hand and placed the scissors in them. "What are you doing? Why didn't you stab him directly?" Syaoran demanded.

Eriol rolled his eyes and made sure that his foot remained planted to the spot, "Because it seems like suicide. We'll get in trouble with the royal guard if it looks like murder."

Eriol stared uncomfortably into the man's eyes. His brown orbs reflected Eriol's image and tears flowed from the corners eyes as his final thoughts rested on either his wife and children or his unfulfilled goals in life. They heard a gasp from behind the door leading into the main hallway. Syaoran looked at Eriol with a panicked look, "If someone catches us, your dad's going to kill us!"

Eriol nodded and ran out into the hallway. He searched the hallway and caught a glimpse of someone turning the corner on his left. The guy would never out-run him. He was too fast. He began to run after the person but a single thought lingered at the back of his mind. _What am I going to do when I catch him? _He followed the panting sounds through the maze of halls in the mansion and suddenly, he came to a stop. It was a dead end, and there, huddled up crying in the corner was his so-called victim. The person was in fact a girl… the same Daidouji girl that he had met earlier. _Why did she come here? Wasn't she supposed to stay at the party? _He took a step towards her causing her push herself further into the corner. For some reason he felt a hint of pity for her, though he believed that no one deserved sympathy in this world. He kneeled down before her, "Stop crying. This is the reality of our lives. We cannot avoid it. It hurts to see someone you could have been friends with but have to kill them because of their blood."

"Or have to tell them, 'I can't play with you anymore, because you're a Daidouji and I'm a Hiiragizawa'?" she finally said.

He raised his eyebrows with surprise once he heard her voice then raised them even more when her words registered into his brain. He ran his fingers through his hair and laughed, "Man, that's going to make it harder to kill you."

She did not reply. The sound of footsteps broke their silence. "That would be my cousin," he said in a low voice, "Meet me tomorrow morning."

"Eriol!" Syaoran called out from down the hall.

He got up to meet his cousin before he could discover the girl beside him. Syaoran finally came into sight but was quickly pushed away by Eriol, "Come on, we must report to my father."

"Did you get him?" Syaoran asked, referring to the witness to their crime.

"Of course."

* * *

_Smack_

Eriol's head turned abruptly to the side at impact. "I am ashamed to have you as my son. You stood by and let your cousin do all the hard work. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Eriol glared, "Well I killed him didn't I? All Syaoran did was hold him down!"

Eriol's father pushed him into the chair behind him, "Listen up boy, when I give you an order; you follow it. You were to prove yourself worthy. You should have been able to kill that Daidouji single-handedly."

"You're so selfish! We kept the kill quiet and the Daidoujis will just think it was suicide and nothing more!" Eriol shouted.

"Oh, how kind of you," his father grabbed him by the throat and squeezed at it tightly, "You are a Hiiragizawa. Act like one. We don't need any of your charities in this family."

Eriol gasped for air, while not breaking eye contact, "I... hate you."

"Very well then," his father released his grip, "I'll send you to boarding school. Maybe you'll learn something from the other boys and toughen up."

"Fine. Anything's better than here."

"Go to your room and pack your bags," his father roared, "You're leaving tomorrow."

Eriol stormed out of the room and went down the hallway. _How dare he send me off to boarding school! Especially right after my birthday. _He calmly halted in the middle of the hallway. _Right after my birthday? How can he do that? It takes a month before they accept any admission forms... unless he sent one already without my consent. _Eriol frowned, "So you want me gone so easily? Do you feel threatened father?"

He entered his room, grabbed one of the books lying on his bedside table and went out onto the balcony. He flipped through the pages of the Japanese novel running his eyes over the letterings, trying to find the spot where he left off. He always needed a bookmark but could never buy one because his father did not enjoy the idea of him reading.

_Rustle Rustle_

His eyes targeted the sound. He saw someone in the distance running playfully around the trees. She spun happily and freely. Eriol couldn't help but watch the carefree ways of this girl. Then a beautiful sound reached his ears. She was singing the melody of a song that had been in his memory long ago. A church song of some sort. A smile appeared on his face. A smile had never appeared on his face naturally before. There was something special about this girl… no one had ever made him smile like that. He leaned over the balcony to get as better glimpse of her against his will as if she were a siren luring people with her heavenly music. He recognized her face as it was touched by the beams of moonlight. She looked up at the balcony and a smile appeared on her face. His heart began to beat like crazy. He stood upright and pulled the diamond ring out of his pocket, _suddenly my life doesn't seem like such a waste. Why do I feel like I want to give her everything?_ He took one last look at her and went back to his room. He lit a candle and pulled out a paper and quill.

* * *

The morning was cold and the grass was covered in frost. Eriol stood outside supervising the servants as they loaded his things into the carriage. He shifted his weight uncomfortably feeling the frost soaking his shoes and the hems of his pants. His eyes caught sight of the girl standing by on her property. She was wearing a blue dress with a white ribbon tied around the waist, and over top of it, she wore a white coat. Eriol walked along the grass until he reached the metal fence that separated the two houses. The girl stared at his servants delicately placing the luggage in the back of the coach. "My father is sending me to a boy's school far away," he explained.

She stared at him with an incredulous look. "You don't need to be so concerned. I'll be back when I'm sixteen," he looked away from her angelic features, "I'll write to you."

He could already tell that she was smiling. "You have a beautiful voice. You shouldn't keep it from everyone… you should join the church's choir," he said quietly, "Promise me that you'll keep talking."

"Okay," she replied in a quiet voice.

He pulled a letter out from his coat's pocket and handed it to her. "The servants are done packing my things. I must go bid farewell to my grandmother. It was a pleasure meeting you Miss."

He went to leave but the girl's small hand passed through the bars and took hold of his coat's sleeve, "Tomoyo. My name… is Tomoyo."

He smiled and took her hand, "You have a beautiful name," he placed a kiss on the cold skin of her hand.

He released her hand and ran back into his home. "Grandmother, I will be leaving now. Are my parents still here?"

"No dear, they left late last night," the old woman entered the room and placed a kiss on his forehead, "Enjoy yourself at the new school."

"I will," he said cheerfully, forcing a smile onto his face, "I'll write about all the good things at that school. I'm very excited!"

His grandmother bought his act and patted him on the head, "You best be on your way dear."

"Goodbye grandmother."

He left the house and rolled his eyes at the disgusting way he acted. He made his way to the carriage and looked over at the other property. There Tomoyo stood, reading the letter. She looked up at him and smiled. She held up a gold chain with a diamond ring on it and put it around her neck. "Au revoir Tomoyo," he whispered before climbing into the carriage and leaving for France where his new school awaited him.

**ChiChi's Note: Okay, in the next chapter they will not be thirteen but will be older! Yay isn't that great? Alright I have the biggest headache right now so I'm gonna stop there. Oh, also if you haven't read Black Butterfly, I suggest that you read it because I feel like advertising. Review!**

Next chapter: _Revirement_


	3. Revirement

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS

**ChiChi's Note: Okay so seeing as I'm done Black Butterfly, I might as well do something with this right? So I've added some contrast and hopefully you guys won't kill me for what I wrote in the end of the chapter. I've been getting some reviews from my friend saying that this is like Romeo and Juliet. Now read carefully while Eriol speaks! Um, yes, you didn't have to understand that completely… Enjoy!**

Revirement

_Dear Tomoyo,_

_My new school is just as terrible as my home. All the boys here are snobs and are all socially classed. They're all trying desperately to be my friend but I've been ignoring them so far. I've been reading to pass the time, but I'm also getting annoyed of that. I can't stand losing my place in a book. My father is still keeping track of my budget so I can't get a bookmark. He's disapproved of reading since I came across a romance novel and tried discussing the subject with him. My English teacher is the only one who actually seems to have anything interesting to say. She treats us all like equals and she doesn't make us feel stupid when we don't understand it. Her name is Kaho Mizuki. I wish you could meet her. You would really like her. I might be able to go back home for Christmas but it's not certain yet._

_Hoping to see you soon,_

_Eriol_

* * *

_Dear Eriol,_

_I guess you couldn't make it for Christmas after all. Don't worry, we'll be able to see each other someday, and I'll be waiting to see you. In the envelop should be a bookmark. I couldn't think of a proper gift to give you and you mentioned wanting one so I took a guess. Today I'm going to audition for the choir at church. I hope you come back soon; I want to go to so many places with you. I want to be able to share and make memories with you. I'll be anxious to see your face again, but when I look at the ring you gave me, I'll think of our promise. _

_I'll write you soon,_

_Tomoyo_

* * *

_Dear Tomoyo,_

_I'm very sorry for not writing for a while. There were a lot of exams so I needed to study. How did you do with the choir? I hope I'll finally be able to see something interesting in that church. My father's coming here today to see whether I am worthy of taking a break from school. If so, I'll come see you first thing, but if not, let's just keep writing each other. If I fail to impress him again, he'll be checking up on me from time to time during the school year, so maybe I'll have a chance to go home during those visits. I'm going to be late for class and I don't want to leave my letters lying around so I'll write you another letter soon. Wish me luck._

_Eriol_

_P.S. Thank you for the bookmark, I'll cherish it forever._

* * *

The busy market was flooded with people. A young girl around the age of sixteen passed through the crowd at a slow browsing pace. Her long hair swayed in the wind as did her long blue dress. Her pale skinned hand tucked a strand of hair behind her ear then traveled down to her neckline where she played with the ring hanging on her necklace. She looked at the items laid out across the many tables, examining them carefully from a distance. She stopped at one table with tiny figurines on it. A smile appeared on her face as she bent down to take a closer look at the one with a boy sitting with a girl on a bench holding her hand. She looked up at the salesman, "How much for this?"

The salesman turned and gasped, "Oh! Miss Daidouji! I d-didn't know that it w-was you," the man frantically looked at the figurine and laughed nervously, "Ah, a fine choice. I'll give it to you for free."

Her eyebrows rose, "Are you sure?" The man nodded. "Because I can pay for it. It's no prob-"

"No no! I insist. Just think of it as a gift," the man argued.

Tomoyo smiled at the man, "Well, thank you then."

She gingerly took the figurine into her hands and continued down the road. She gently nibbled on her lip and looked up at the clock tower. _I should get back, grandmother should be expecting me by now, _she thought and moved her way through the crowd. She held the item in her hands close to her heart and made her way back home.

* * *

"Just put it down here, you don't have to bring it in; I'll do that," the sixteen year old boy said to the servant taking a small box and a book on it.

The servant nodded, and the boy dismissed him with a cold icy glare. He looked down at the jade paper-covered box, held together with a slightly frayed white ribbon, and imagined the contents of it. He hadn't opened that box for years, promising himself that the contents would never be found, and soon he forgot what he had put in there. He picked up the book and opened it to where the bookmark was. It was a golden bookmark. It was thin and had a slit on it so it would slide easily over the paper. At its top was a braided group of dark blue threads that were braided into a diamond then were tied into a knot, letting the remaining threads flow freely. The front of it had _"I'll be yours" _engraved on it. He remembered a girl giving it to him, but there were so many girls from the neighboring private school giving him gifts that he had already forgotten who gave it to him. Though this gift seemed very important. Maybe it came from someone he really liked. Like Kaho. His heart skipped a beat at the thought of his beautiful teacher standing at the front of the class always eying him as she taught. He looked up from the book to make sure that the servants weren't damaging any of his things then leaned on the metal barred fence. His eyes flew over the words as he waited for a servant to inform him that everything was in his room. The sun shone on his pale skin, causing him to shiver at the warm sensation. He closed his book and stared at the box on the ground. _Maybe I should open it, _he thought. He shook his head at the idea and watched the servants unload the last piece of his luggage out of the cart. "Finally," he muttered and pushed himself off the fence.

"That's a very good book," a voice came from behind him.

He jumped at the sound of the girl's voice and turned around. On the other side of the fence was a girl about his age with a very familiar appearance. She was looking at the book in his hand and looked up at him with a very warm smile. "I read that book last week, I think it's my favorite so far," she explained, "You look familiar. Have we met?"

The boy blinked, utterly confused. _Why is this Daidouji talking to me? _He glared at her, _it must be a trap. _He picked up his box and turned away from her. "I don't associate myself with Daidoujis," he said and walked towards the mansion.

Tomoyo's jaw dropped in shock and then frowned and went to her mansion as well, "He's not as great as grandmother describes him to be."

* * *

Eriol walked into the room and saw his grandmother sipping tea in her favorite chair. "Eriol! You've arrived!" she got up and walked slowly over to him, giving him a hug, "This is wonderful! You came just in time as well."

Eriol stepped away from his grandmother, "In time for what, grandmother?"

She smiled at him and sat down, "We're going to have lunch with the Daidoujis today."

Eriol grimaced but nodded, "I'll go get ready then."

He turned to leave trying to think up a way to weasel out of the lunch date. _Maybe I could pretend to have a fainting spell from all the traveling._

"Nonsense, you look fine right now. We shall go over now."

He grimaced again and turned to his grandmother, "But I-"

"Hush boy, we are going now and that is final."

Eriol frowned and obediently followed his grandmother to his enemies household. They entered the house and were escorted to the patio in the back by some servants. There was the mother of the Daidouji family and that girl from earlier already sitting at the table. They took note of them and stood up from their seats. The girl smiled at him once again, but this time, it didn't seem real. In fact, it was very fake. Her grandmother nudged her to move, then went over to Eriol's grandmother. The girl reluctantly walked up to Eriol and curtsied. "Please to meet you, my name is Tomoyo Daidouji," she said politely, still smiling.

_Tomoyo Daidouji…why does that sound familiar? _Eriol took her hand and placed a kiss on her hand, "My name is Eriol Hiiragizawa."

Tomoyo's eyes widened, "E-Eriol?"

She cast a look over to her grandmother, who nodded, and she looked back at him. A true smile appeared on her face, "It's so good to see you again!"

Eriol withdrew and gave her a confused look, "My apologies Miss Tomoyo but I don't recall ever meeting you."

She tilted her head to the side, "What are you talking about? Don't you recognize me? We used to play together at the church and I was with you when you left."

Eriol gave her a doubting look returned to his seat, "I apologize again, but I do not recall playing or bidding farewell to anyone _like you_."

The two grandmothers sat down with disappointment, not noticing what he meant, but Tomoyo noticed that when he said "like you," he meant like anyone who was a Daidouji. She frowned and returned to her seat. The two ate in silence for the rest of the time together, listening to their grandmothers discuss the achievements of their offspring. Tomoyo frowned at her food and poked at it with her fork. _How could he have forgotten it all? This explains why he never answered my letters, _she thought angrily. She wasn't one to get angry, but for this occasion she allowed it. She felt like crying out in frustration but just forced the thought away and continued to smile. Eriol finally looked up from his food and gave one of his fake smiles as well. Their eyes locked for a moment but slowly Eriol's faded. His eyes noticed something about her and he laughed quietly as if to mock her. He continued to eat his food. "So Miss Tomoyo," he started casually, "You say we've met before?"

She cocked an eyebrow, "Why the sudden interest?"

"Curiosity," he stated bluntly.

"Curiosity killed the cat," she replied sipping her tea.

"Then feel free to take away one of my nine lives," he answered back, leaning into his chair, giving her his most charming smile.

She put down her fork and smiled at her grandmother, "I'm full now, may I be excused?"

"No, wait for Eriol dear," her grandmother answered.

"No no, I'm full as well," Eriol piped up.

"Very well, you two take a walk and catch up on old times," Eriol's grandmother chimed and bid them farewell.

Tomoyo bowed her head to both grandmothers and left the room followed by Eriol. The two walked down the halls towards the garden doors. Tomoyo walked at an accelerated speed as Eriol quickened his pace to walk at her side. "Why are you in such a hurry to get away?" he asked.

"Don't you think that I already know that you're up to something?"

"I do act suspicious at times, don't I?" Eriol noted then shook his head, "You are avoiding the subject Miss Tomoyo."

"Am I really?" she answered innocently, "I couldn't possibly be."

"Of course, it must be I who is avoiding the subject," Eriol rolled his eyes, "The subject in actuality being you, correct?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Ah Miss Tomoyo, I can already tell that you're far too clever to not understand what I'm saying. Something happened a long time ago between us that you can benefit off of and seeing as I do not plan to cooperate by recalling the moment, you are unable to profit, causing anger to overcome you, yes?"

"Absolutely not, I am perfectly calm," she frowned at him and walked faster.

"Tell that to the creases on your forehead," he smirked and continued to follow

"I am not angry!" she shouted finally reaching the door, "I'm just disappointed that you do not remember me."

"Maybe this is a plan to draw me close to you and just when I trust you, you'll kill me so that mommy and daddy will be proud and show you some respect for once and hold you above their work and evil schemes." Eriol grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. He pinned her against the wall, both hands on either side of her and pressed his weight against her to stop her from squirming. "Could it possibly be that you had an infatuation with me far back?" he asked, the smirk on his face disappearing, replaced by menacing eyes roaming over her features, "Did I break your heart Daidouji?"

Tears began to well up in her eyes, "P-please stop."

"Say we did meet once upon a time, I couldn't possibly know you from that brief meeting, did you spend all this time waiting for me and expected me to just fall for your beauty once I returned?" he laughed, "Were you expecting something like Romeo and Juliet, where I would be smitten by your appearance and destroy everything my family has worked for just because of something that I claim could be love?"

"No," she muttered, a tear falling from her eyes.

"Then why were tears in your eyes at the table?" he asked, "Admit it. You were hurt by me weren't you?"

Another tear escaped her eye and made Eriol grin with satisfaction of the emotional Daidouji that he was tearing apart. "This is what I do to all Daidoujis, Miss Tomoyo," he said gently brushing the hair out of her face, "I hurt them. If you ever get in my way again, I'll make sure that you enter an incurable mental breakdown."

Tomoyo's head dropped, her forehead touching his shoulder. He could feel tears falling onto his shirt and soaking through. He heard a small giggle from her. Her small, fragile hands grabbed on to his arms and held onto them tightly. "You've changed so much from the boy you used to be Eriol Hiiragizawa."

She looked up at him with a smiled, "But don't worry…" her smile was substituted with an evil grin, "So have I."

Eriol was confused by what she just told him but then she screamed. "HELP! PLEASE SOMEONE!!!" she held on tightly to his arms, keeping him from pulling away, "HELP ME! HE'S TRYING TO KILL ME!"

"I can hurt people too Eriol," she said in a quietly as she heard footsteps approaching, "Quite the change of heart for the both of us, don't you think?"

Next chapter: _Le jeu d'enfants corompu_


	4. Le jeu d’enfants corompu

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS

**ChiChi's Note: Yay! Go me, all my concentration has been placed on this fanfic. I had to deal with the person who challenged me to that yaoi fanfiction and managed to get something out of this. So I'm going to base these pairings on the ones from the anime/manga to suit the story. So try to remember how those pairings were long ago. With that, I've resolved the conflict of me being unable to find a suitable pairing to write about and I merged the challenge thing into my story. It's only a minor thing so don't worry about it completely taking over the story because that's very yucky and I only want the ET pairing to shine!!! Er… yeah so I'm done rambling now. Please enjoy!**

_Le jeu d'enfants corompu_

If you were to enter the inner most workings of the Daidouji family, you would see that there are more complications than meets the eye. The Kinomoto family for example, having lost their mother when Sakura Kinomoto was young, would stay out of most of the violence and remain more or less neutral between both families. This did not keep them completely out of danger. Since the eldest son, Touya, was an adult now and could protect himself, their father felt that finding protection for him was unnecessary. Fujitaka was mainly concerned about his daughter. She was naïve, generous, and too innocent for her own good. She still had a golden teddy bear which she would talk to whenever she needed to confide in someone. As she continued this habit into adolescence, both he and Touya grew nervous. Fujitaka searched for a suitor for Sakura who would both love and protect her from the war between the Daidoujis and the Hiiragizawas. He decided to choose the grandson of the elders of the Tsukishiro family. Yukito was the same age as Touya and immediately received acceptance from the two children. He was trained in archery and fighting, and was rather intelligent and athletic. The second the Kinomoto family met him, he became Touya's close friend and Sakura's fiancé.

Now these violet eyes could not be fooled, for when she looked at the three socializing together during a party, she could see the true extent of their bonds. Sakura, being Yukito's fiancé, would smile politely at him and show a large amount of admiration towards him, but soon after, she would get bored of their conversation and her eyes would wander to the boys in the crowd that were of her age. As her eyes left the two friends, she would miss the tiny details like the lusting looks that Touya would always give Yukito, or the faint blushes that would appear on Yukito's cheeks at the slightest touch of Touya's hand on his arm. But no one else saw it. Only her violet eyes could see that that this arranged marriage shouldn't be.

If you were to look at the inner most workings of the Hiiragizawa family, you would see something quite similar to the Daidouji family. The Li clan, having no father to guide them due to a fight between him and the mother, would follow the guidance of Eriol's father. All five children were forced to fight the war and were the most reliable when it came to finishing a job. The eldest daughter had been married, and the other three were engaged, all to rich and powerful men from prestigious clans in China, giving the Hiiragizawas access to easy but big business deals there. With Syaoran Li being the successor of the Li clan, Yelan concentrated mainly on finding a spouse for her only son. Syaoran was very cold to every girl who came his way, so it made Yelan's job rather difficult. After a year of searching, she finally had an idea. She decided to arrange a marriage between him and Meilin Li, a girl within their family who trained with him since they were children. Life in the Li clan was set; Syaoran would become the new leader once he married Meilin, and guide their family away from the war.

But these azure eyes saw differently. When he looked at the two sitting at the table, he would see Meilin chatting away and Syaoran looking as if he was being tortured. Those azure eyes watched Meilin's growing obsession or infatuation take over her. Syaoran on the other hand, had become cold towards her and searched for an escape. He desperately wished for Daidouji that had to be killed so that he could leave and finally have some peace, but that rarely happened. After a while, he adapted to tuning out her voice and just stared ahead at Meilin, but only his eyes could see that he was not staring at his fiancé, but the beautiful girl behind her. Only his azure eyes had been noticing that this marriage could not be promising.

* * *

Eriol's eyes widened, "Wh-what?"

"I'm sorry Eriol, but until tomorrow night's party, I will not allow you out of your room. I will send servants up to check on you and to bring your food, but if I find out that you have left this room, I will send you to live with your father in France. I cannot believe that you tried to hurt that poor girl, whatever happened to the two children who always played together at the church?"

Eriol's grandmother sighed and left the room. _Played in front of the church? I hated going there when I was young. That Daidouji must have told my grandmother some lie. There's no way I could ever play around there. _He frowned and grabbed his book. He hopped onto his four post bed and opened the page to where his bookmark was. He traced the design on the bookmark unconsciously and silently cursed Tomoyo Daidouji for forcing him to stay in his room for a whole day. It was ridiculous, he now knew those tears coming from her eyes were definitely not real, she was just pretending to cry at first so that she could prepare herself to launch an attack against him. It worked. Everyone ran into the hall and saw him struggling against her. He was trying to get away from her, but she kept pulling him back. From everyone else's perspective, it looked like he was trying to kill her.

He growled and tried to read the words on the page but it was no use. His concentration was stuck on that stupid girl. He had finally met a Daidouji who actually planned their attacks. She was almost as clever as… as… himself. He looked up from his book and pondered the thought, _could it be that I've finally found a Daidouji who can fight me at the same level of intellect? _A small smile appeared on his face as he pondered the situation with amusement.

The door burst open and a brown haired boy waltzed in, "Well well, got caught on the first day, that's quite impressive for the son of our mighty leader."

Eriol glanced over his shoulder and saw Syaoran Li leaning against the doorpost with a traveling bag slung over his shoulder. A smirk played across his Chinese features as he stared at the boy bound to his bedroom, "So I heard you tried to kill Tomoyo Daidouji. Why her? Weren't you in love with her when you were younger?"

Eriol scoffed, "You think so too? Why does everyone think I have a connection to that bloody, conniving bitch?"

"What wonderful vocabulary you have. You don't remember? You used to play with her all the time before your mom found out, and I believe you also wrote her for your first year of boarding school."

"I would have remembered if I did any of that, but I don't so can we please stop lowering ourselves by talking about a Daidouji?"

Syaoran grinned, "Well, it looks like you've been modified during those three years."

Eriol frowned and shut his book. He jumped off the bed and walked to the glass doors that led to the balcony, "The boys at the school were terrible, it's basically survival of the fittest and I made it so that I would come out on top."

Eriol opened the doors and walked out. He sat on the ground and leaned his back against the railing, "So why are you here my cute little cousin?"

"Don't call me that," Syaoran snarled, "I'm here because my mother sent me to greet you in the place of your father."

"It's better than my father I suppose," Eriol sighed and stared up at the sky, "So how have you been while I was gone? How's Meilin?"

"She's fine," Syaoran sighed as well and stood against the railing, "She's getting really excited to get married. Just two more years. I don't see why we can't just get this over with now. We could have gotten married two years ago."

"Marriage isn't something that you would refer to as something to get over with," Eriol replied staring through the gaps between the bars that supported the rail, "It's something that needs love and nourishment from both ends of the relationship. You both have to _want _this marriage in order for you to both be happy. Meilin will be happy at first, but as soon as she sees that you don't love her as much as she loves you, she will become depressed."

"And hopefully stop talking," Syaoran was silent for a moment, "You're still reading books aren't you… even after your father forbid you to? He says that books give you knowledge and knowledge makes you think. A person like you could easily stray from the path he's laid out for you."

"Exactly. That's why when I take over; I will do a better job than he ever did. This whole thing could be over in two months after I gain power over this family. The way he wants to take over everything is with brute force. He doesn't stop to think about the consequences. You need a plan before heading into things. A strategy. That's the only way to play this game."

* * *

Tomoyo walked out into the garden and admired the flowers that the servants had spent so many months working on. She walked at a slow pace through the garden a sway a little in the wind. She began humming a song she learnt in choir practice. _Why didn't he remember me? _she wondered holding on tightly to the ring on her necklace. _Did he forget the promise we made or was he just pretending to forget so not to get caught? Oh well, he got what he deserved. It's karma for never writing me for two and a half years._ She ran her finger over the ring's surface. _Maybe there's still hope of reconciling and saving these families, but then again…this plan may possibly backfire still. Maybe I should give up on the whole idea…_

She heard voices coming from far away. She looked towards the Hiiragizawa property and saw a boy standing at the balcony. She hid behind a tree and tried to listen to what he was saying. "So tell me, did you come across any girls while you were away?" the boy with brown hair asked. She immediately identified the voice as the voice of Syaoran Li.

"Yes in fact, I did," another voice replied. She knew that voice belonged to Eriol, but she couldn't see him from where she was, "There was a neighboring girl's school which came to our school for social gatherings once a month."

Tomoyo's curiosity grew as the conversation continued, she also felt somewhat jealous, _why didn't he tell me about a girl's school coming every month? Maybe that's why he stopped writing. He got distracted by other girls who were probably prettier than me. _ "So were any of the girls there any good?" Syaoran asked.

"No."

Tomoyo sighed with relief. "That's too bad. I thought for sure that you would have fallen for at least one of them," Syaoran laughed and turned to look towards her property.

"I didn't say that I didn't fall for a girl, I just said that the girls from that school didn't meet my standards."

"Oh? That only leaves people from your school. Didn't you go to an all-boys school?"

"You're sick."

"That leaves teachers."

There was a silence for a bit. Tomoyo waited impatiently for Eriol's answer. She wanted to know who this woman was. She was absolutely furious. This woman was getting in the way of peace between the two families. If only she knew the damage that she was causing. "My English teacher… Kaho Mizuki. She was absolutely wonderful. Believe me my dearest cousin, she was perfect. She was intelligent, beautiful, interested in music and books. She was kind to everyone and always paid the most attention to me. Most of all, she loves me. I kind of didn't want to leave school at all. There's nothing waiting here for me."

At that moment, Syaoran's fiery eyes met with Tomoyo's. She swore beneath her breath. She knew of Syaoran's notorious way of being cruel to generally all women, even his own fiancée. She knew he was going to point her out to Eriol, and then Eriol would twist the situation to his own need and get out of that house. That would place her in danger if he was still angry at her. Syaoran glared in her direction and stood up straight. "Eriol…" he started, not taking his eyes off of her. Tomoyo shook her head pleadingly. Syaoran turned his back to her, "It's a bit windy out here, let's go inside."

Tomoyo's eyes widened, _did I just get saved by one of my enemies? _Eriol finally stood up into view and walked into the room. Syaoran turned to look at her one last time then followed Eriol, closing the door behind him.

* * *

"Tomoyo!" a young voice squealed.

Tomoyo felt two warm hands take hold of her own and spin her around mercilessly, but in a playful manner. Tomoyo let out a scream of delight, "Sakura!"

The auburn haired girl stopped spinning and smiled at her cousin, "I haven't seen you in months, how are you?"

"I'm good and you?"

"Everything is great! My birthday is soon and you know what that means!"

Tomoyo knew what it meant; the moment Sakura turned 16, she would be married to Yukito Tsukishiro. It was part of the agreement. She didn't smile at first, knowing the complications that it would have between the three of them, and Tomoyo didn't want to let Sakura go. Tomoyo wanted to keep Sakura to herself as long as possible seeing as she was the closest person to her. Their friendship was so close that it almost felt like… love. Tomoyo shook the thought out of her head and smiled at Sakura, "You're very lucky Sakura; I wish I could find a suitor as nice as Yukito. Ah, where are those two right now?"

Sakura looked up at the ceiling trying to recall exactly where they went, "Touya said something about going somewhere that only they knew."

Tomoyo looked out the window distractedly. She knew exactly where they were. She could remember the time when she came across that one special spot.

_Tomoyo walked through the forest that remained behind the Daidouji and Hiiragizawa properties. She had never gone further than the eighth tree. She decided to add a tree for every year she got older until she was able to go deep into the forest on her own. Touya had dropped his watch and she wanted to return it to him, but he and Yukito ran into the forest together. They had gone in so far that she had passed her boundary by twenty times and followed the sound of their voices. As she got closer, she realized that they were having a fight. They were finally in view and she saw that they had discovered a small pond deep within the crowds of trees. Yukito was sitting by the water cradling his head in his hands while Touya was calmly leaning against the trunk of a tree nearby. Tomoyo hid herself behind another tree and peered around it. She had never witnessed a fight between the two friends; they had always seemed so close. She thought that Touya was finally happy with the boy that their father chose, but it seemed not. "To-ya," Yukito started, "We shouldn't have even come down here today. What if Sakura gets worried."_

"_She can handle herself for now," Touya muttered, a frown growing on his face, "Yuki, do you… want to marry my sister?"_

_Yukito laughed, "Of course, it would be an honor to marry into your family."_

"_Do you…love her?" Touya asked, sounding a bit nervous._

"_I…" Yukito stopped and thought about it for a moment, he then laughed, "Touya you're so concerned for your sister. I also love her in a sisterly manner, but I don't love her enough to consider her my lover. It's sweet how you want your sister to have everything in live. You're so kind."_

_Touya shook his head furiously and looked away. Yukito stood up and walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Why not? Why else would you be asking these questions?"_

_Touya frowned, "Because I'm selfish."_

_Yukito's head tilted to the side, "I don't understa-"_

_Right at that second, Touya quickly stole a kiss from Yukito. "I don't either," Touya said quietly, "I'd give my sister anything I have in an instant, but why don't I want to let her have you?"_

"Tomoyo?" Sakura poked her arm and pouted, "You drifted off while I was talking."

Tomoyo giggled, "I'm sorry, I was just thinking about something."

Sakura's emerald eyes grew wide and a grin appeared on her face, "A boy perhaps?"

A laugh escaped her lips and she shook her head, "There's no time for romance in the life of a Daidouji."

Sakura rolled her eyes, "You cannot be serious. There will be a party tomorrow evening, and you do not plan on romancing any of the rich young gentlemen there?"

Tomoyo slapped Sakura's arm playfully, "You make me sound like a manipulative seductress."

Both girls giggled. "Perhaps, if I've been reading your letters correctly, that will be a key element in getting what you want in this little game we've been playing with the Hiiragizawa family."

* * *

Eriol sat at his desk staring at the same spot on the wall for an hour. He had never been confined to a room for more than an hour and it had already been four. He grew bored of everything that he had done. He wanted revenge against that girl for keeping him bound to a room for so long. He was convinced that she was pure evil. Pure evil cradled by the body of an innocent girl. She was definitely smarter than a regular Daidouji, perhaps even smarter than Sonomi Daidouji. He paused for a moment, linking some of the girl features to the head Daidouji of the family. He grimaced, "God, she's the direct heir to the Daidouji family's leadership. Of course she would be bright; the elders must have been training her for it since she was a child."

The Daidouji family groomed what seemed like a perfect heir. She was confident, sociable, intelligent, an amazing actress, and also had the advantage of a celestial-type beauty. The question was: "Was Eriol Hiiragizawa any match for her?" Eriol frowned; _it's possible that I may not have the upper hand in this situation. Having her as my enemy could cause problems. I need to eliminate her from this war quickly without causing a stir, because if she comes into full power over her family, it could mean the end of the Hiiragizawa's reign. _Eriol pushed his chair back and stood up quickly. He felt the sudden rush of blood to his head and walked off his dizziness. He stepped out onto the balcony for fresh air. He heard voices coming from a room in the other house. The window was open so he could hear the voices clearly. He saw shadows moving about in the room. "Honestly, Miss Daidouji is so tidy and organized, it's hardly a challenge cleaning this room," an old woman's voice declared with pride.

"Yes I agree. Just look at her desk and book shelves. All so neat and perfectly positioned. Why look, she even has everything on her shelves in chronological order. It would take me so long to do that!"

"Yes, that girl has such a great trust in everyone too. Just look, she keeps her diaries from every year of her life out in the open. Anyone could take it."

"That's true, but who would have any use for them? They're probably filled with personal thought and that's all."

The voice faded away and the sound of a door closing was heard. Eriol rolled his eyes, "That wasn't useful at all, if they were gossiping about the Daidouji plans, then that would be good."

Eriol hung his head and stared at the green grass below. _Tomoyo Daidouji. What is her weakness? There has to be something…I'm in trouble if I can't figure it out._

Eriol frowned and sat down against the railing. He closed his eyes trying to sort out his thoughts. He knew there was a way to win this game, but he couldn't quite figure it out. He tried to relax his mind with thoughts of Kaho. He bit his lip and shivered just by thinking of her face.

"_Eriol! What happened to you?" Kaho stood from her desk and rushed to the bruised boy standing at the entrance of her classroom._

_Eriol was already in tears. Some boys had invited him to eat lunch with him but it was a trap and they beat him up. He hated this school. It had only been five months and they were still beating him, all under the order of one particular boy who's family had sided with the Daidoujis. Eriol began to gradually curse the Daidouji family more and more as time passed, but it did him no good. He knew there was something important which forced him to like the Daidoujis but with all the stress it was becoming a blur as to what it was. He knew there was something important about that blank piece of paper lying on his desk next to the envelop but he just didn't have the time to think about it._

_He felt a soft finger touch the cut on his lip. He winced but didn't back away from her. Kaho smiled at him and took his hand. She led him to her desk where she tended to all his wounds. "Is it the same boy that has been causing you problems since you arrived here?" Kaho asked._

_Eriol nodded, "But its okay, if I deal with it a bit longer, maybe they'll get bored. I don't want to fight back. It's immature in my opinion."_

_Kaho smiled, but then realized who she was talking to. The smile faded away and she shook her head, "That is a very good opinion and it would be good to have in life, but you have to remind yourself of who your family is. If you go through life thinking that, then you'll end up dead, and I don't want that because I care about you."_

_Eriol's heart began to beat faster at those words, "Th-thank you, but what else can I do?"_

_Kaho closed her eyes, "I rarely give this advice unless it is completely necessary for their survival. Eriol, if you want to survive this school… this world, you have to start being a Hiiragizawa. Don't take the punishment you are being served right now. Find those who want you to be hurt and befriend them. It's a saying: "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer." With that, you're sure to fit in here in no time."_

_Eriol wasn't sure if he liked what he heard, but for some odd reason, something made him give in to his teacher's request, "Okay, I'll try."_

Eriol opened his eyes and grinned. "Kaho, you're a genius," he whispered quietly.

A knock came from his door and Syaoran rudely barged in right after it. He strolled over to Eriol, "Your grandmother sent me up to check on you."

Eriol rolled his eyes then clapped his hands together, "Dearest cousin, I've finally figured out how to get my plan started. That Daidouji will regret ever causing trouble with me."

"Still on about her?" Syaoran asked in an annoyed tone, "Can't you just leave her alone? She's only one Daidouji, what can she do?"

Eriol stood up and waved his finger at Syaoran, "That my dearest cousin," he pointed to the house in reference, "Is the daughter of Sonomi Daidouji."

Syaoran's jaw dropped, "That's impossible, the heiress should be living with Sonomi and the elders. How did you come to this conclusion?"

Eriol leaned against the rail, "Well, firstly I linked their physical features together. Also, there is the fact that none of us have never seen the heiress before and she's never at Sonomi's side where as the Kinomotos are always at the side of their father at one time or another. There's also the similarity between our situations. We're both living with the heads of our households."

"… to gain admiration of the grandmother so that she will pass on an inheritance to you," Syaoran's eyes widened, "How did I not see that?"

"It took me a while as well," Eriol laughed, "In order to win this war, we must eliminate the heiress."

Syaoran nodded, "I see. Should I be the one to kill her then? We can do it as soon as possible. So far, only you seem to want her dead, so if you go to your grandmother and distract her, I can go kill the girl and you'll appear innocent."

Eriol shook his head, "No, plain murder will not work in this situation. We are going to do this my way. We'll gain her trust and the trust of those close to her, and then we'll just make it seem like she left on her own accord. As soon as she vanishes, the Daidoujis will have to make one of the Kinomotos their heir and that's where their family will fall."

"That's true; the Kinomoto family wants nothing to do with any of this so they'll try to avoid any situation that will cause violence, even if it means losing business deals and money. Eriol… what demonic things have they been teaching you at that school?"

Next chapter: _La confiance_


	5. La confiance

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS

**ChiChi's Note: Okay, this has been done for a while, but I got depressed when no one reviewed my last chapter, then I realised that all my reviews were being delayed through the email so I had to check the site instead. Sigh. Anyways, this is exam month for me so no chapter for the rest of the month. Maybe if I'm lucky I'll post on the first of February then on my birthday! Okay, so anyways this chapter is longer than most of my chapters so enjoy!**

_La confiance_

This young girl never got to see her mother as much. She was always in different places working on business plans. She regularly saw her mother twice a month, but that was it. Every month she would work hard with her studies in order to impress her mother the next time she came, and she never failed to please. She read many books, polished her bilingual and soon multilingualism, and went to the elders for lessons on leadership, logic, and other things that would prove useful in the future. She only realized during the ten years that she lived with her grandmother that, excluding social events, she only saw her mother 240 times during her stay there. The blurred thoughts of her father who had long since left were beginning to fade away. She always wondered what he looked like after the day his features completely left her mind. She knew that she had no one. Alone in her room, her teary violet eyes stared up at the moon, trying to remember… remember the one who made the loneliness in her heart disappear.

The young boy never wanted to see his parents, and luckily they didn't seem to want to see him. He despised his father with every bone in his body. His father refused him knowledge when he was a child, and had high expectations of him. His father visited him four times a year and his mother once per month. His father was never kind when it came to accomplishments. The boy worked hard beyond his full potential and stressed himself beyond belief training to take over the family with math to manage his money, knowledge of how businesses worked, fighting skills, and many other things that he would need. He realized with great joy that he only saw his father and mother around 180 times in total. Deep inside his heart, he had no care for either parent. His father was cruel, and he barely knew his mother. The feeling that he got from being with them spread to the rest of his heart. He knew that he hated everyone. Alone in his room, his angry azure eyes would glance at the moon, and a tear would fall from his eyes as he tried to remember something… or someone from long ago that made him feel like the world maybe wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

Tomoyo stood at the gate of the neighbouring Victorian house the next morning. There was a slight breeze, but she knew it was going to be beautiful day and she wished she could go to the market with Sakura, Yukito and Touya, but her grandmother requested that she go to the Hiiragizawa household to repair the damaged done on her and Eriol's old friendship. She feared it was too late to save their friendship now. It was already unstable to begin with. They barely knew each other except for the things they said in their letters over the course of a year. She hadn't eaten breakfast due to the fact that her grandmother wanted things to be dealt with right away. The doorman opened the gate and she walked up the path to the front door. She was immediately greeted by two maids, who escorted her to a sitting room. In one of the seats sat the head of the Hiiragizawa household. "Ah, Tomoyo," she began sitting up straight in her seat, "I'm happy you see you. I am aware that you are probably shaken by the events of yesterday afternoon and I greatly apologize to you."

Tomoyo shook her head, "No, it is I who must apologize. I must have said something that angered him to that extent. I came here hoping that I could speak to him and fix this mess."

The old woman looked shocked for a moment, but then took her tea and sipped it, "Very well. I shall have someone escort you to his quarters. Poor thing has been locked up there for a whole day almost."

Tomoyo bowed her head to the elder and left the room. She found her way around to the staircase. She could see someone sitting on the steps. It was a boy with brown hair. He was definitely not a servant there, but that was all she could make out. She stopped in front of him, "Excuse me, could you show me to Eriol's quarters please?"

The boy looked up and smirked, "Ah, the ever so popular Tomoyo Daidouji."

Tomoyo observed the boy quickly. Messy brown hair, amber eyes, Chinese attire, slightly tanned skin. A smile appeared on her face, "The notorious Syaoran Li. We finally meet."

She noted that he seemed much taller in person. He used to seem very short but now that he finally grew up he was probably around the same height as Yukito. She passed him and began up the stairs, "You are the heir to the Li clan correct?"

"Yes I am," he answered following her up the stairs and soon taking the lead, "Why do you ask?"

Tomoyo tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled at him, "Curiosity sake. I like to know about the people around me. You seem very interesting."

Syaoran's cheeks began to show a tint of red, "Th-thank you… I think…"

_Ah? His walls came down so easily. Such an unfortunate weakness to have for someone who will be coming into control of such a powerful family. _She continued to follow him and notice that his walking became more stiff and mechanical as they traveled down the hall. She found amusement in this and pressed her lips together, trying not to giggle; not only would it be rude, but it would show him a sign of amity, which she was not about to give to anyone who would side with the Hiiragizawa clan. They stopped at the door and Syaoran leaned against the smooth wooden doorpost, "I'll be outside in case he tries to do anything rash," he rolled his eyes, "God knows he will."

Tomoyo didn't take that comment too well. She held her breath hoping for the best as she entered the room. She looked around not seeing him anywhere. She closed the door behind her and walked slowly through the room. _I wonder where he is…_She noted a beautiful green coloured box on his desk and stared at it curiously. The white ribbon keeping it shut showed that it was meant to stay shut for a long time. It was frayed, and had lost its perfect white colour and had gained a creamy hue. She could already tell that it had been on the box since he was at the boarding school and was kept sealed with purpose from the looks of the tight double-knot on it. Her hand moved towards it, her index finger twitching once with anxiety. She knew that whatever was in there was a secret that he was trying to protect. Could it harm him if it were known by others? Could it be something small that he honestly had no care about anyone seeing it, but kept it in there anyways? She pulled her hand back, knowing that this would only cause trouble, and that was the last thing she needed right now. She turned away from the desk trying to ignore the box and stared at his bed that had not been slept in. She looked at the book that had been placed on his pillow. It was the same one from the other day and he was almost finished according to his bookmark. Her eyes widened. His bookmark. She gave that to him for Christmas! He kept it for that long? Maybe there was hope of rekindling their friendship. She sighed and went for the door figuring that he had left without anyone knowing. As she passed the French doors with white curtains, she noticed a shadow from the other side. She opened the door enough to look out to see who it was. Half-hidden behind the curtains of the door, a very rare natural smile appeared on her face as her eyes rested on Eriol's sleeping form. He was truly handsome she had to admit. He looked so sweet and innocent as he slept as opposed to the monster that he was when he was fully conscious. She fully opened the door and stepped out onto the balcony. It was empty except for the small table with two chairs pushed in under it and a plant in the corner beside Eriol. She stared out at the similar view that she saw everyday from her bedroom window. Her room did not have a balcony so she couldn't stand out in the wind as she stared past the treetops of the woodlands behind the two mansions at the beautiful sunrise that occurred behind the silhouette of the church on the high ground far away. Eriol made a whimpering sound and tossed his head to the other side, muttering something unconsciously. It was enough to catch her attention. She glanced at him and observed his current behaviour. She assumed that he wasn't having the most pleasant dream at the moment and considered relieving him from it. The wind pushed her hair into her eyes and she tucked it back behind her ear. She was beginning to find her long hair a hassle to maintain. She considered cutting it once or twice but figured that her mother would go insane if she did and make her wear one of those distasteful wigs that all the noble women wore. She rolled her eyes trying to stay focused on the matter at hand. She knelt down in front of him and reached out to tap him on the shoulder. She stopped her hand inches away from his shoulder and withdrew it half way. _Maybe I should try a sweeter approach…_

* * *

_Eriol ran down the hallways as fast as he could. He looked back and saw three boys chasing after him. The sweat from his brow began to go into his eyes, practically blinding him, but he kept running. He felt an annoying trickle of blood moving from his mouth and along his cheek. He wiped it off with his the royal blue sleeve of his school uniform. He refused to have any more damage done to him. "Get back here you wimp!" one of the boys shouted at him._

_He shook his head and ran down the first flight of stairs he saw. He quickly hid around the corner before any of the boys could see where he went. He crouched down and squeezed his eyes shut praying that they wouldn't find him. He heard their annoyed chatter fade away. His eyes opened as it became very silent. He took this chance to run outside and away from his classmates. He made it out of the doors and he sunk to the ground against the wall. He was panting hard and his lungs hurt so much. The metallic taste of blood coated his mouth, making him a bit sick. He closed his eyes and held his knees to his body, using them as a pillow for his head. He felt the cool breeze rushing through his hair, which he found very soothing. He forced his mind to settle on happy thoughts. Books, art, music, love. His heart was calmed at the thought of the beautiful longhaired beauty that he adored for her kindness, and interest in things that he liked as well. He began to dose off, but then he heard light footsteps coming closer to him. He sensed that person's presence in front of him as soon as the footsteps stopped. He felt a soft hand brush the hair out of his eyes. He opened them slightly and saw a girl kneeling before him, her hair flowing in the wind. She smiled at him warmly._

"You might catch a cold by sleeping out here," she said quietly.

Eriol blinked a few times and realized that it wasn't Kaho in front of him, but the Daidouji heiress herself. He smirked, still half-asleep, "Good morning Miss Tomoyo, I'm delightfully shocked by your concern."

He got up and brushed the dust off of his pants. He eyed the girl in front of him who was also getting up. He frowned with disgust for thinking that she was Kaho. He turned on his heel and entered his quarters, "So what brings you to enemy territory?"

"My grandmother," she stated in a sudden bored tone, "I have come to apologize for the other day. It was unkind of me to-"

Eriol laughed and closed the doors, "You honestly expect me to believe an apology coming from your family? Our families have been asking for forgiveness from each other for years, yet we're still fighting for the top spot. Let's just stop apologizing, because we know neither of us will mean it even if I accept it, and let's just forget the whole incident."

"Well then," Tomoyo rolled her eyes, taking a seat at one of the chairs in the corner of the room, "You definitely know how to suck all the fun out of phony friendly moments."

Eriol removed his glasses and held them to the light, "Phony friendly moments…" he cleaned the dirt off of them while pondering the meaning of her comment, "You speak of this as if we were pretending to be friends. I take it our grandmother's are still under the impression that we are old friends? It's odd, everyone seems to think this, but I have no recollection of you whatsoever."

Tomoyo smiled hiding the disappointment, "That's what I find odd about this whole situation. You don't remember anything about me, but you seem to remember everyone else. I wonder why."

He rested his weight against his bed and replaced his glasses, "I assure you Miss Tomoyo; I had never met you until yesterday. Do you have any proof of our previous meetings?"

She looked away thinking about the several items of evidence that she had. Her eyes made contact with him again. His eyes were challenging her as if he knew that he could not be proven wrong. She smirked and opened her mouth to claim victory, but the door opened before she could answer him. "Eriol, the maids have brought up breakfast for you and the Daidouji," Syaoran announced rather rudely.

Two maids entered the room with trays of food in their hands, doing their best to avoid blocking the course of the icy glare locked onto Syaoran. They scurried onto the balcony and returned within seconds, quickly walking out of the room. "Ah? I'm sorry," Syaoran said in an exaggerated manner, "Was I interrupting something important?"

Eriol rolled his eyes, "Dearest cousin, where have your manners gone? A normal person knocks on the door before entering."

Tomoyo stared at the two boys engaged in a war of glares, which were both rather intense that they could make anyone shrink in fear. By the looks of things, the two weren't on very common grounds. Compared to her and Sakura, these two were almost like enemies. _So the relationship between Syaoran Li and Eriol is a rather weak one. With just the right influence…it's brilliant! I can't wait to tell Sakura my plan!' _For the moment though, she was in the middle of business. She cleared her throat and stood up, "Don't worry, it was nothing that we can't talk about later, though you should really consider knocking at the door first, it's rude to just barge in like that," she walked across the room with grace towards the balcony, managing to tear both their eyes away from each other and onto her, "Shall we eat Eriol? I'm famished!"

She went to the table and took a seat looking down at the small bowl of rice and plate of vegetables and meat. She licked her lips excitedly, but waited for Eriol to come sit down. He walked out onto the balcony with a confused look on his face, but yet he sat down and began to eat. "So Eriol, are you excited for the social gathering tonight? My grandmother got the best tailor in Europe to make my dress for tonight. I thought it was a little too costly to spend so much money on a dress but she insisted that it was a special occasion. How about you? Did your family do anything ridiculous to prepare you for tonight?" Tomoyo asked, picking at her food.

Eriol took a couple slow chews then swallowed his food. "My father sent Syaoran to welcome me back home, which doesn't surprise me. He hasn't seen since my first year of boarding school and I don't remember it too well, but I don't think it was a cheery visit," he laughed and actually seemed amused by the situation, "I believe he is coming tonight… possibly. My mother is coming though, that is certain."

Tomoyo's eyes lit up, "Your mother is coming?"

"Yes," Eriol replied in an uninterested voice, but then gave her a suspicious look, "Wh-what? You seem happy. Why? It's my mother for heaven's sake! Are you mad? She's like a walking veil of death!"

Tomoyo's eyebrows rose, "Is that really how you describe your mother?"

He rolled his eyes, "Could you do better?"

She laughed, "I must admit, my meetings with her have not been very sweet considering who I am, but she is one of the only Hiiragizawas that I will show respect to."

Eriol snorted at the idea. Honestly, he had never been close to his family. He despised all of them for being such idiots. They all threw their lives away at his father's command and did not think twice about anything. He smiled though at the idea that his mother would amaze the Daidouji heiress, "Why?"

Tomoyo shook her head, "You must think this odd, coming from the mouth of a Daidouji, but… your mother is amazing! She has such great power at her fingertips, yet she refrains from using it. No one sees her for her beauty and only for who she is because she always hides her body. Another thing I admire about her is that she's an eloquent speaker and she is the female leader of the whole Hiiragizawa family next to your grandmother. Anyone who can gain power using only their life skills and not relying on beauty or bribery should be worshiped in the world that we live in."

Eriol's jaw dropped. He had never heard anyone speak so kindly about his mother before. In fact, no one voiced an opinion of his mother… ever. _It's almost like she's strongly motivated to be like my mother. How terrifying. What she said might be true, but it's also so strange at the same time. Why would she tell me things like this? _He looked across the table at the girl nibbling on pieces of her food. _Could it be that she is under some impression that we are, as everyone else is saying, still friends? Or is she telling me this so that I would release some information about my family? I don't trust her. This is probably a trap, but she won't get the best of me no matter what. I'm the one who's going to come out on top. _There was a long silence with the exception of their utensils scratching against the porcelain plates. Eriol would periodically look up at her, but then return his gaze to his food. He caught her looking back twice, but he simply dismissed it with a small smile. As he neared the end of his meal he finally decided to speak, "Miss Tomoyo, I find it peculiar that you are acting so kind today. I was expecting more from the girl who pulled off that stunt the other day."

She wiped her mouth with the napkin cloth, but did not answer for a bit. Eriol found the silence somewhat alarming, but finally she made some type of humming noise to show that she was thinking, "I see no point in fighting with you. We're both alone, I have no intentions of doing some random misdeed towards you, and you've been rather courteous today. Plus, it's such a beautiful day, why spoil it with bickering?"

She looked off into the scenery as Eriol tried to figure out what she was actually doing. It seemed impossible to see into her mind. She hid things very well, as he noticed earlier when he told her that he didn't remember her. Her smile came up almost instantly after he spoke, but he caught that look of sadness on her face before it left. He sighed and put his elbow on the table, leaning his head into his hand. He smirked, "Hm, in that case, let's be friends."

Her fork dropped and hit the table. She seemed shocked by what he just said, which entertained him greatly. She looked down at the table for a moment then looked up at him with a serious face, "No."

"What?" Eriol asked, surprised that she didn't accept his 'peace offering.'

She laughed, crossing her legs and straightening up her posture, "I'm already onto you Eriol."

_No way! She already figured out my plan? How? That's impossible! _He swallowed hard and waited for her to continue. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and leaned on the table bringing both hands together and aligning each finger. "You see Eriol," she started in a calm voice, "When you brought up the fact that I was being too nice, I also realized that you were being too nice as well. It was obvious that you were up to something. I decided right then that I have lost interest in rekindling our friendship… for now that is, because with you, there's a threat to me in becoming friends again."

Eriol nodded his head, encouraging her to go on. She stood up and went to lean against the railing. "Have you ever noticed how people act stupid when they're in love?" she asked out of the blue. Eriol didn't know what that had to do with anything, but he nodded anyways, and she continued, "They blindly run into obstacles without giving it any thought because they think they're doing it for the noble cause of love. I don't want to be the one taking those risks with my family on the line. That, I believe, is your threat against me. If I were to fall in love with you, you would slowly be able to get me to make decisions to cause the downfall of my family, but I won't fall for you trick Eriol, because right now, I don't trust you. If that is what you're planning then I have no interest in being your friend, but… we can be acquaintances. It will satisfy me, and please our grandmothers."

A smile grew on Eriol's face, impressed by her process of thought. Though her conclusion was far from his plan; it was very well thought out and was almost brilliant. He wondered why he hadn't thought of it before, not that he had any intentions of falling for the Daidouji heiress any time soon. He got up and took her hand, placing a kiss on it, "Agreed, Miss Tomoyo," he then released her hand and strolled back into his quarters, "Acquaintances, we shall be."

* * *

The sun had just begun to set as the members of the Kinomoto family had arrived. Sakura was holding on tightly to her little bear, while Touya and Yukito were holding everything that she had bought. The servants hurriedly relieved them of the bags and brought them up to Sakura's quarters. Tomoyo rushed to the front door excitedly to see them, "Welcome back!"

"Tomoyo! I bought you something that I thought you'd like in the market today," Sakura chimed and grabbed her hand, "Come I'll show you."

The girl grabbed her hand and pulled her up the stairs. She was amazed at how much energy Sakura had. She always seemed happy and excited about everything. Tomoyo had always admired that about her, as well as her kindness. She looked at the golden stuffed animal in her arms. It had small eyes and a strange looking smile on the face, white wings, and a lion's tale. She wondered from time to time if it was actually a bear or a lion. She sighed reminding herself that Sakura would always talk to it from time to time. It made her worried. Sakura seemed to maintain a weird and wonderful naivety, and the fact that she was involved with the Daidouji family could possibly break it suddenly and drive her insane. Tomoyo didn't want Sakura to get hurt and tried her best to make sure that she was always protected. Luckily she had Touya and Yukito around her most of the time. Even when she married Yukito, Touya would still be at her side, either for his friendship with Yukito, or his love for his little sister. She began to feel that tinge of jealousy again. When she was younger, she had a crush on Touya, but it was destroyed when she found out he loved Yukito. Then for some reason, she always got jealous whenever people mentioned Sakura's marriage to Yukito. _Does that mean…_Tomoyo stopped walking causing Sakura to stop as well. "What's wrong?" Sakura asked.

Tomoyo began to panic. She quickly smiled to hide it and continued to walk, "N-nothing. I just thought of something, that's all. I must tell you about today. I've come up with a brilliant plan!" She said quickly changing the subject.

Sakura beamed, "Oh really?"

She nodded, "You see, Syaoran Li and Eriol Hiiragizawa are cousins, but they act nothing like us. They act as if they loathe each other, meaning that the bond between them is weak," she summarized, "I have been told that Syaoran Li has killed most of our family over the past five years. I don't plan on killing anyone, so we shall make him our ally instead. This will give us the advantage of not losing anymore family, and disadvantage the Hiiragizawa family in the same way. The Hiiragizawas can play their dirty games of death, but our family will not win by being sore losers. Syaoran is not the sole heir to the Li clan, but he is first in line, being their only son. In their family, women can obtain leadership, only if their husband was the leader at first. The four sisters already have arranged marriages, so what I must do to ensure that Syaoran is the only heir is to break up those arrangements."

"Why would you want him to be the only heir? Isn't that bad?" Sakura asked in a confused tone.

"No," she replied simply, "With him as the only heir, once he comes into power, his whole family will follow him, and not abandon him for another leader."

They walked the rest of the way to Sakura's quarters in silence and entered the room. Finally Sakura broke the silence, "Um, Tomoyo, how are you going to break them up?"

Tomoyo laughed and leaned against the windowsill, "I already have it all planed. Remember in my letters to you? I told you that I was going to break them up so that the Hiiragizawa family would lose a great amount of money and connections in China? I don't need all of that, so it won't hurt me if I continue on with that plan, but just to attain a different goal. One by one they'll fall apart. You'll see the first marriage fall during the party tonight."

Next chapter: _Profits et pertes_


	6. Profits et pertes

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS

**ChiChi's Note: Hello everyone So this is later than I wanted it to be… again. I wanted to put it up on my birthday (feb 15th) but I got ridiculously sick on that day and wasn't able to get out of bed until Saturday. So yes. I apologize again. I'll try to get another chapter up by the end of the month. Enjoy. **

**Head up for the azn-speaking impared: 'wo ai ni' means 'I love you'  
**

_Profits et pertes_

The party was magnificent. Laughter filled the great hall and couples waltzed across the dance floor with grace. It was to be admitted that the Hiiragizawa mansion did in fact have the most wonderful hall for soirées of any occasion. The hall was large enough to fit a ship within it and had a ceiling that reached high up into the heavens. The architect made the room purposely for social gatherings. The room echoed the sounds of the instruments being played and carried out the sound throughout the entire house, but not one sound would escape the house. Balconies lined three walls of the room leaving to other wall, made of glass windows and doors, to be lined with two red velvet curtains that were pushed to the side when people were present.

The Daidouji family remained on the right side of the room and the Hiiragizawa family stayed on the left; all others stayed in between. Eriol entered the room and smirked upon seeing the separation of people in the room. His eyes quickly found Syaoran and he went to him. Meilin was already deep in conversation with him, but Syaoran uninterestedly stared out into the crowds scanning it for anyone who seemed interesting. "Good evening cousin," Eriol greeted as he approached the couple. He took hold of Meilin's hand and placed a kiss on it, "And good evening to you Meilin. I do hope you're having fun."

Syaoran smirked at him before returning his attention to the dancers on the floor. "Eriol! I haven't seen you in so long!" Meilin exclaimed, "The party is wonderful. Isn't it Syaoran?"

Syaoran squinted his eyes looking far off pensively; "It would be better if we were celebrating something else."

He laughed a bit then settled his eyes on one of his sisters. Feimei was dancing with her fiancé. He was Chinese and apart of a prestigious clan back in China. He never really liked her fiancé but forced himself to be nice to him for his sister. Even though all his sisters annoyed him, he also loved them. Feimei's fiancé glanced over at him and smiled, giving him a wave. Syaoran rolled his eyes, but nodded in response. Feimei gave him a loving stare and cuddled in his arms. Syaoran shifted uncomfortably. She was the next sister to be wed. Naturally, all five siblings would have been wed by the age of fourteen, but the elders forbid it. They wanted all five of them to have solid marriages that could never waver, and also took a long time approving of those who married into the family. In his case, they wanted to make sure that the friendship between him and Meilin could last for a long time. _The elders are all secretly sadists. _He suddenly realized that the couple was no longer in his path of vision. Instead, his eyes laid upon a girl in a white dress with it cut just enough to reveal a pink material beneath it. A ribbon wrapped around her waist and a lace collar was attached around her neck. Behind her back, he could see a soft yellow object. He stared in awe at her beautiful Japanese features. She had a perfect skin, shining jade eyes, and short auburn hair, which he found exhilarating seeing that not many girls had short hair. He looked over at her two companions. He recognized them right away as Touya Kinomoto and Yukito Tsukishiro. He looked back at the girl, _I forgot her name…what was it again? I should know this. Isn't she Tomoyo Daidouji's cousin? _"Syaoran? Syaoran?!" Meilin shouted.

Syaoran snapped out of his trance and looked down at Meilin with a small smile, "Uh, what is it Meilin?"

She pouted, "Why do you look so interested in the Kinomoto family?"

Eriol's eyebrows rose at the question. A large grin appeared on his face as he noted that Sakura Kinomoto was with them. _Oh? My my Syaoran, is Meilin so boring that you must gawk at your own enemy to relieve yourself? _Syaoran blushed and gave a nervous laugh, "Heh I was just forgot who that girl was and it was bugging me, that's all."

Meilin's jealous eyes shot towards Sakura, but then became relieved remembering that Syaoran would never like anyone who was related to a Daidouji in any way. She laughed, "Oh, I know her. She's the only daughter of the Kinomoto family, um… Sakura. She's weird. She always has that dumb stuffed animal with her and she actually talks to it. Creepy, huh?"

Syaoran was about to reply, but Eriol interrupted, "On the contrary Meilin, it's quite extraordinary to see. It shows a sense of naivety and innocence. It's rather intriguing, don't you agree Syaoran?"

Syaoran gave a curious look, and Eriol simply replied with a knowing look. Syaoran gulped and looked at the ground, "Um, sure. Ah, Meilin, would you like to dance?"

Meilin's eyes widened, "But you never dance at parties."

He sighed, walking towards the dance floor slowly, knocking Eriol off balance purposely at the same time, "I know, but I've come to realize that a change wouldn't be so bad."

* * *

Tomoyo walked down the halls in silence with another girl. They were going to the hall, but did not talk to each other. It was an awkward silence between the two; she was a maid for the Li clan after all. Tomoyo knew her already; she had seen her before at parties that the Li clan attended. There was a small memory she had of her that made her feel like skipping merrily to the hall rather than walking. It was only a year ago when she found out. 

Tomoyo walked down the hall of the Hiiragizawa mansion, once again late for another one of their parties. One of the daughters from the Li clan rushed past her, "Chaoxiang?"

_She had no idea which sister it was, they all looked so similar. They all seemed to have dark brown hair and they all generally looked alike. She turned the corner and was out of sight. She heard the sound of the door ahead of her creaking open. Quickly, she hid behind a table by the wall and watched as Feimei's fiancé walked out followed by their servant. He muttered something in Chinese then sighed. He looked over at the servant and laughed, running his hand through his hair. The maid blushed and laughed as well. They continued with their conversation for another minute and the maid finally took a step away from him and bowed her head. She went to walk down the hall after Feimei, but Chaoxiang grabbed her holding her tightly to him. She suddenly heard something come out of his mouth that she recognized from hearing others from the Li clan say it. He lowered his head to her ear and closed his eyes, "Wo ai ni."_

Feimei's fiancé, Chaoxiang, loved the girl who was walking beside her. Finally they reached the twin doors to the hall. The girl reached for the doorknob, but Tomoyo put a hand on the door, denying her access. The girl gave her a confused look and opened her mouth to complain, but Tomoyo gave her brightest and friendliest smile, which would make anyone stop anything out of shock. "What would you say…" she started in a calm voice, "If I told you that I knew of a way to make Chaoxiang only yours?"

* * *

Eriol walked along the walls of the hall, his gaze locked on Tomoyo Daidouji who was standing on the other side of the room. Occasionally she would begin to search the crowd, have eye contact with him and quickly bring her attention to Sakura who seemed be asking Tomoyo a lot of questions. They were both looking at Meilin and Syaoran dancing on the floor. Tomoyo seemed very uncomfortable while speaking to her cousin; she kept giving her worried stares then would occasionally bite her lip while looking at the couple. After a while her gaze would start to go into the crowds and she would spot him. A small smile began to appear on his face as she began to make it a habit. He slowly motioned towards the doors to the balcony and finally tore his eyes off of her. A small laugh escaped his lips before he went outside. The people close to the door fell silent at the rare sound of his laughter in public. 

Tomoyo watched as Eriol slipped out of the room and almost felt compelled to go after him. There was something about the look he was giving her that made her intrigued. "So he's engaged to Meilin Li?" Sakura asked, sounding a bit disappointed.

Tomoyo placed her hands on her hips, "Sakura, you shouldn't even be looking at another boy, let alone your enemy."

"I… I'm not Tomoyo," Sakura giggled, "I'm very happy with Yukito, why would I like someone else?"

Tomoyo gave Sakura an unimpressed look. She opened her mouth to say something, but she finally noticed Feimei and her fiancé leave the dance floor. She prayed that the maid wouldn't chicken out from her plan. She decided to use a little technique with ultimatums. She always found them so twisted when they used it in war. Unfortunately, her plan had a 66.67 percent chance of failing, but it seemed like a risk she was going to have to take. The maid stood a few feet away from Chaoxiang, eyeing him nervously. She looked across the crowd, seeming uncertain. Tomoyo sighed; her chances were looking unpromising. She smiled at her and encouraged her with a nod. The maid nodded and then tapped Chaoxiang on the shoulder. He turned to her with a smile, and she bowed her head. As planned, Tomoyo watched as the maid asked him to go to a more private place to talk. They retreated to the balcony without raising suspicion from Feimei.

* * *

Eriol leaned against the railing on the far side of the rather large balcony, in the edge where the light from the hall did not touch. His eyes relaxed in the darker light and his head began to clear. These parties always gave him headaches. He heard two voices close by. They were speaking in Chinese. He looked over and saw Feimei's fiancé with their maid. He was not fluent in Chinese, but he knew enough to understand it. He rested his head on the railing and listened to them. 

"What is it?" Chaoxiang asked.

"Chaoxiang… I can't do this anymore," the maid replied unhappily.

Eriol furrowed his brow, _do what anymore? _He moved closer to listen, but just enough not to be seen. Chaoxiang looked unhappy and the maid had a determined look on her face. "I'm going to resign tonight," the maid announced to him, "This is better for both of us. If you stay with Miss Feimei, then I shall assume that you do not love me anymore and I will be free to find another. If you do love me, you will go after me… and be with me… only me."

"Wh-what?" Chaoxiang sounded distressed; "You can't do that to me! I have obligations to fulfill. If I don't do it, then my parents will disown me. I love you, but I just…"

The maid's head sunk low and her eyes remained glued to the ground. Chaoxiang took her in his arms and held her close, "I'm sorry, I wish I was never born into my family, so that I could marry you and have a family and life with you."

Eriol's mouth fell open. It seemed impossible. Chaoxiang seemed like an excellent choice for Feimei. He always showed affection towards her and was always happy around her, but this was the first time Eriol had seen him look at someone with so much want. He felt almost supportive of Chaoxiang's misdeed. The maid pushed him away from her, "No! You already seem to have made up your mind, just let me leave this whole thing. Don't hurt me even more than you already have."

She stormed into the hall again, and was quickly followed by him. Eriol's heart began to beat faster as he followed the two as well, with interest. He stopped at a distance from them and listened in on what was happening. "Miss Feimei, I apologize for the inconvenience, but I fear I can no longer serve you or your family," the maid bowed her head.

"Oh no," Feimei said sadly, "Whatever for?"

The maid looked over at Chaoxiang, "Um, personal reasons. I apologize again. I shall go gather my things and leave for China tonight."

Feimei nodded uncertainly, "I shall call you a carriage in that case."

"Thank you," she said bowing her head lower this time. She left without another word. There was silence for a moment. Feimei looked slightly upset, but didn't say anything about it. Eriol sighed, _just another maid lost. How sad, throwing away such a good life for love. She could have been well taken care of, and even next to the man she loved for the rest of her life, but she just had to be greedy. Marriage isn't such a big deal is it? _His thoughts were interrupted by Feimei's shouts. He looked up and saw Chaoxiang running to the maid. His eyebrows rose in surprise and he grabbed her and spun her around. "Don't leave me," he cried and held her tightly to him, as if he were never going to let go of her again.

Tears flowed from both their eyes as they comforted each other in the warm embrace. Loud chatter burst throughout the room about the two showing affection for each other like that in public. All eyes turned to Feimei, who was staring at the two in disgust. Feimei began crying, her face red with humiliation. She ran out of the hall, leaving the rest of the Li clan distressed over the situation. Syaoran looked furious, but only went to follow his sister. He stopped where Eriol was and turned his head slightly to him, "He'll pay for breaking my sister's heart."

With that he stormed off, followed by Meilin. "It's sad how love can destroy a family like that," a soft voice came from beside him.

He jumped at the sound and looked over at the Daidouji heiress who had made her way beside him in some ghostly manner. Eriol looked at the couple again and nodded, "So this is the effect of true love I suppose."

"I couldn't imagine throwing away a family's reputation, just for what will probably only last a night."

Eriol smiled noting that the musicians were still playing, even though they were causing such a ruckus. He held out his hand to Tomoyo, "I can."

She giggled and took his hand. He spun her around and began to dance with her. Slowly, he could hear the voices in the room settling down. They were now being replaced with gasps of either shock or horror. "You know how to calm a crowd well Eriol," she laughed noticing it as well.

"What can I say," Eriol said proudly, "I have the qualities of a leader."

Tomoyo laughed and rolled her eyes, "Is egotism one of them?"

Eriol didn't answer. He felt like saying another word would ruin the happy air around them. An unfamiliar feeling pulsed through his veins as they danced. He felt like his heart was being released after being constricted for a long time. A small smile forced its way onto his lips against his will. She smiled back at him as well as they danced, pulling herself closer to him. He immediately stared past her at a space on the ground behind her. As soon as he managed to escape the distraction that was her beauty, his mind began to think again. _I must stay focused. If I just stay calm, she won't suspect anything from me. I suppose that she's already suspicious of me, I can't encourage that thought. _He looked up confidently looking around at the room filled with familiar faces. He caught sight of the Kinomoto father smiling at the sight of them dancing. Sonomi Daidouji stood beside him fuming. She slapped her fan against his arm and said something quietly but apparently furiously to him. As they moved along the floor, he began to see things in the Kinomoto family that he had never noticed before. Only now, facing them, he realized some flaws in the somewhat neutral family. The friendship between the leaders of the Daidouji and the Kinomoto families wasn't as friendly as he had believed it to be. Though Fujitaka Kinomoto smiled and tried to stay on Sonomi Daidouji's good side, he obviously failed in accomplishing the task.

He caught sight of the younger three Kinomoto standing near the dance floor talking. Sakura Kinomoto looked distressed. Her gaze fell to the floor frantically searching for something, but… her fiancé did not seem concerned. He occasionally turned his head and leaned down looking curious as to what she was doing, and sometimes he would say something to her, but his focus seemed more fixed on her older brother. Touya looked somewhat annoyed by the attention that Yukito was giving Sakura and he would also say something to her that would anger her, but he'd usually return her comment with a smirking reply. What was going on with that family?

The music ceased and the two stopped dancing. Her took hold of her hand and kissed it one more time, "You are a wonderful dancer Miss Tomoyo."

She smiled, "As are you," her eyes travelled to their grandmothers and she laughed, "They look impressed my dearest acquaintance."

Eriol straightened up and sighed, "Ah, still an acquaintance then?"

She gave him an unimpressed look, "Do you honestly think you can convince me that you're intentions are purely platonic after one dance? You must do more than that to gain my trust. How am I to believe that you are not trying to seduce me? Do you have any proof?"

Eriol rolled his eyes, "You're not easy to win over, are you? I apologize but you are very mistaken."

Her eyebrows rose, then she grinned, "Is that so? Very well Eriol, prove me wrong."

She smirked and walked off to her side of the room with the other Daidoujis. She joined Sakura who seemed still distressed, "Tomoyo, I lost Kero! I can't find her!"

Tomoyo made a surprised sound and joined in the search to find the stuffed animal. She turned around and searched the floor but saw nothing. She looked up and saw Eriol walking back to his family's side. Unconcerned, she kept searching amongst the many feet on the other side. Suddenly, silence struck the side on which the Hiiragizawa family occupied. Eriol stopped dead in his tracks. Everyone looked on in fear as they all cleared the way for two tall figures walking towards him with prestige. The man and woman approached him. Tomoyo's heart skipped a beat as she saw Eriol's mother gliding towards him beside who she supposed was his father. She rarely saw him at gatherings so she just assumed that he wasn't anyone of interest, but it appeared that she was wrong. Eriol took a step back from them which made Tomoyo's eyebrows arch in surprise. Sakura noticed her expression and touched her arm to gain her attention, "What's wrong Tomoyo?"

She was silent for another minute as she observed the scene. Eriol's head was ducked down avoiding eye contact with them. His father stopped a few steps away but his mother continued on. There was small distance between them once she stopped. Eriol's body tensed up. She could not see his face, but she could tell that Eriol was…. "He's scared," she whispered.

From behind the veil Tomoyo could sense his mother's eyes on her. She then looked down at her son and cupped his cheek in a loving manner. She raised his chin to hold his gaze to where her face was hidden and she tilted her head in what appeared to be a comforting way. She brought her left hand up and removed her silk black glove revealing a pale hand beneath it with only a ring with a shining diamond on. Everyone from his family looked uncomfortable with the situation. Tomoyo saw nothing wrong, but she knew there was definitely something happening. His mother placed two long fingers around her ring and twisted it so that it would face the other way. Eriol shook his head, but as soon as he did, there was a resounding smack that echoed throughout the room. Eriol dropped to the ground gripping at his face. No one went to help him. Tomoyo wanted to go to him and see if he was all right but she restrained herself, knowing that it would only cause more problems. His mother spun around and left the room with black trails of material flowing behind her. Eriol's father glared at him and also left. There was a moment of silence amongst the hall and they all watched as Eriol stood up, eyes still on the ground. His hairline covered his face, but people to his left gasped in horror for something else could not be hidden by the amounts of stray hairs in his face. He withdrew his hand from his cheek and revealed to the room blood dripping from his hand. He laughed mockingly at the sight of it, which made his family stare on in wonder of the boy. A maid rushed to his side holding a cloth. He wiped the blood off his hand then off his face. His head rose, uncovering the rest of his face. No tears left his eyes; those warm eyes that would welcome anyone who spoke to him for the first time. He threw the cloth to the ground and pushed his hair from his eyes. Tomoyo finally was able to see his face. She gasped as she caught sight of the cut that ran across his cheek, and his cold, hateful eyes that warded everyone away from him. A smirk played across his features at the look of total shock on the faces of everyone in the room. Without another word, he strode out of the hall, and the whole room burst out into gossip the moment he was out of sight.

With all the commotion, Tomoyo managed to slip out of the hall unnoticed. She ran down the hallway in search of Eriol and she heard voices coming around the corner. There were only two voices: Eriol's and his father's. "I am very disappointed in you my son," his father snarled.

Eriol laughed, "You cannot be serious father. All I did was dance with Tomoyo."

There was a small pause. "What is wrong with you?" his father said in a low hissing voice, "Dancing with her only shows some queer hope for peace and I refuse to allow it coming from you. I have spent too long working to build our empire and I will not let it fall because of a weak point in my own son. You _will _cease this ridiculous obsession with peace and most of all you will stop using such an informal way of addressing your enemy. Who did you say that girl was again?"

"Tomoyo," Eriol replied dully.

She tilted her head to the side, growing interested in their conversation. She drew near to the corner and peered around it to see the two standing a bit down the hallway. His father looked furious and brought up his giant hand to swat Eriol on the back of his head. "My apologies father, _Miss _Tomoyo," he corrected.

His father nodded and paced around, "Yes… that does sound familiar. Where have I heard this name before?"

"Well sir, she does live with the head of the Daidouji household," Eriol started, "Maybe grandmother mentioned her to-"

"Silence boy, it wasn't that," his father stopped pacing and gave his son a stern look, "Foolish boy. Why do you refuse to give up those damned books? If only you would stop, and then I could rest easy knowing that my son's head is not filled with these foolish thoughts."

"I'm sorry father, I will try my best to avoid them when I study," Eriol stared at the ground, "I shall think of an alternative way to learning without them tonight. Will you be here tomorrow morning?"

His father nodded, "Very well Eriol, as long as it keeps you away from the little witch of a girl."

Tomoyo frowned, _how cruel. He knows nothing about me. _He turned to leave down the hall, but Eriol took a brave step forward, "If I am to stop speaking about her in an informal way, you should stop speaking of her in such a demeaning way."

"Why should I?" his father said over his shoulder, "What is she to you?"

Tomoyo straightened up at the question, anxious to hear his reply. Eriol leaned against the wall, giving her a much better view of the cut that had been torn mercilessly into his left cheek, and stared down at the ground with an unhappy expression, "Acquaintances… nothing more."

His father made what sounded like a mix of approval but the desire to make Eriol stop talking. He then left leaving Eriol alone in the hallway. "Bastard," he muttered and pushed himself off the wall using his shoulder.

He walked slowly down the hall as well but was stopped when he felt a pair of arms wrap around him with a weak force, "Eriol, I'm sorry. It's my fault, I shouldn't have accepted to dance with you. Your parents wouldn't be furious with you if I didn't."

Eriol chuckled softly and patted her back softly, "Why are you apologizing? It's just my parents. Who cares what they think?"

Tomoyo pulled away from him and gave him an incredulous look, "But you got hurt? How could I not apo-"

Eriol smiled at her, "It was worth it."

It took a moment for the information to register in her brain. _Eriol was willing to be embarrassed in front of everyone and have that cut on his face…for me? _She blushed, feeling quite happy about her sudden realization. "Oh…" she giggled and took Eriol by the hand, "Let's go take a walk shall we?"

She began pulling him along with her as she tried to remember which way led outside, _maybe…we can be just friends. _She began talking about things that had been happening while he was gone and Eriol just walked by her side saying nothing and just listening. Just within moments, he was able to get closer to her and he was unable to comprehend it, but… _it's a good thing I heard her footsteps around the corner._

A smirk appeared on his face, unnoticed by the happy girl beside him.

Next chapter: No Name


	7. Les esclaves

Disclaimer: I don't own CCS

**ChiChi's Note: I hope people still read this story hehehe. I apologize for such a late update seeing as I promised putting up a new chapter at the end of February and here I am at the end of June. Well to make up for it, I extended the chapter by um... around five pages. Also I was in France and Belgium for a bit and also I went on a band trip with my school. I've been a busy busy girl hahaha. A lot has been happening lately like auditions for music, and art shows and such. Anyways forgive me? Enjoy!**

_Les esclaves_

Put at risk. In both feuding families, engagements were meant as ties into other businesses. Both families had important engagements: in the Kinomoto family and the Li clan. Both families had another thing in common. Both of those engagements had been at risk ever since the moment they were made, for those who were to enter the family were already in love. Love. That which defeats or conquers all. Though, in these situations, could it be possible to win?

* * *

Eriol leaned his head back against the tree bark, staring up at the gray-blue sky. He deduced that it was near breakfast time by the shade and the fact that the sun was not there to blind him as of yet. He sighed and shifted positions to let one leg swing freely from the thick branch he was sprawled out on. He looked down at the foot of the tree and watched his nemesis sleeping peacefully. He glared at her and gave a frustrated sigh. He obtained absolutely no useful information from her the last night. She blabbed on and on about her family, but she chose her words so carefully that he couldn't find anything to use against the Daidoujis. He decided that she was very bright in order to conjure up such delicately phrased sentences like the ones she spoke, and it made a small smile appear on his lips. He never had to deal with such a challenge in his life, and was impressed at how difficult it was to crack such a fragile looking girl. Suddenly, he remembered a tiny detail that would ruin his plans if it were not solved soon. He had to return to school at the end of the month. He was not expecting Tomoyo to be such a problem, and now he realized that one month wouldn't be enough to beat her in their little game. _How can I stay? Convincing my father to let me stay here to resume my learning at a lower class school would never work…there must be a way. _He closed his eyes and ran through the many possible plans he could use. _Home schooling is the best alternative to that school, but then my professor would never cease to annoy me with work. _He rubbed his temples and gave Tomoyo another glare, "This is all your fault."

No answer. She just slept, curled up in a ball like a cat. He groaned, _what would Kaho do in this situation? Oh, Kaho. I could never dream of leaving that school with her there. This is too frustrating. I must stay here, but I want to be with Kaho…Kaho…_Eriol's eyes widened then grinned, "Kaho."

She was his every answer. How he loved her so! She was his sun and his moon. There was nothing on Earth that could ever split them apart.

"Tomoyo!" a loud voice echoed through the garden.

Eriol didn't budge, knowing he was well hidden by the tree's abundance in leaves. Another person called out her name but this time, the voice sounded higher. Someone walked into Eriol's view and stood in front of Tomoyo. "There you are," he chuckled softly, "Sakura was worried about you."

The boy he saw had unusually light hair, and glasses that made his eyes an undeterminable color. He was very pale for someone who was full-blood Japanese, and a bit shorter than Eriol. Something was familiar about him that Eriol just couldn't figure out. He knew, for a fact, that the boy's name was Yukito Tsukishiro and that he was marrying into the Kinomoto family, but there was something else that was familiar. It was almost like he knew him from somewhere a long time ago. He felt a sort of uneasiness; something about him was not right. "Toya, I found her," he said in a loud but soft voice.

Sakura Kinomoto's brother then came into view and sighed, "She'll catch a cold for sure."

Touya gathered her sleeping form in his arms and carried her away, "Isn't this the dress she just had made? Auntie will be furious."

Touya continued to talk, but Yukito did not follow. He stood motionless at the foot of the tree, as if waiting for something. Eriol felt his whole being grow tense under the awkwardness of the situation. As if Yukito sensed it, his gaze shot straight up at him. He wore such a calm expression; it was hard to tell what he was thinking. That stoic look was so recognizable. It was something that irritated Eriol for not knowing. Their eyes were locked on to each other's. _He seems so intense, Sakura Kinomoto's fiancé. What could he possibly be planning? I'm on Daidouji territory right now, so he can kill me if her really wants to. I wouldn't put it past him. All Daidoujis seem innocent at first but end up being lethal. _A few more seconds passed then out of the blue and sweet smile appeared on his face, "You should hurry up and go home. You'll miss breakfast if you stay up there."

With that he left. Eriol jumped down from the branch and gave an incredulous look, "That was it?"

He rolled his eyes feeling let down. There was something inside of that guy that made him seem like a predator, but he appeared to be far too kind to hurt someone. He began walking back to the mansion, _what a strange character…he'll fit right in with their family._

* * *

Tomoyo woke up to find herself staring at the wall of her bedroom. _How did I get here? Wasn't I with Eriol last night? _She sat up, rubbing her eyes and looked down to find herself to still be in her dress from the previous night. "Good morning," a high voice came from beside her.

She jumped at the sound and immediately moved in the direction opposite from the intruder. She whipped around and saw Sakura sitting at the side of her bed, resting her chin on the mattress. Tomoyo blushed, feeling embarrassed for over-reacting, "A-ah! Good morning Sakura."

Sakura giggled and looked out the window, "Or should I say afternoon?"

Tomoyo yawned and forced out a laughed, "Yes, I suppose."

Suddenly, a strange fact entered Tomoyo's brain. The Kinomoto family lived in Japan, so since the party for Eriol had ended, shouldn't they have gone back home? Usually Fujitaka would insist on leaving early in case of a brawl. Tomoyo glided over to her dresser and browsed through her dresses, "Sakura, does your father still have some business here? It is strange how you stayed for the full duration of the party last night."

Sakura opened Tomoyo's windows and leaned over the windowsill to look down. "No, my father has all of his affairs in order," Sakura replied, "Actually, Yukito has business to take care of. I wasn't really paying attention when he gave details on it. He said his family would like to try making some business here as well with the tea business."

Tomoyo stopped for a moment to review what Sakura had just said. Her information seemed a bit off, but then she remembered that Yukito's grandfather had married into a family with a long line of tea ceremony masters. "That's wonderful Sakura! Now you can stay here longer," Tomoyo chimed, "And you can be here for when I finally destroy the Hiiragizawa family once and for all."

Sakura nodded her head energetically, but the stopped as if she had just realized something. "Um, Tomoyo?" she started sounding a bit nervous.

"What is it?"

"Kero. Can you come with me this afternoon to their house to go look for her?"

Break

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Syaoran began, receiving a nod from Eriol, pacing around a small selected space in the empty great hall, "You want to ask your father to stay here."

"Correct," Eriol leaned against the wall watching his cousin try to comprehend the situation with a frustrated expression on his face.

"You're also going to ask him to be home schooled," he stated, Eriol nodded, "_And_ you want to ask him to spend money on a professor whom he will have no trust in seeing as your professor is a stranger to him?"

Eriol nodded and Syaoran's laugh echoed through the large and empty great hall.

"I see nothing funny about it," Eriol said in all seriousness, "In order to eliminate Tomoyo Daidouji, I need more time."

Syaoran snorted and sat on the ground lazily, "Is she really _that_ difficult? I mean, you've only been here for three days. You have almost eleven days to get rid of her."

"It's not as easy as it looks," he frowned at the mess on the ground and began kicking the trash to the side. As soon as he cleared a small space, he took a seat across from his cousin. Syaoran glanced at his wristwatch then glanced at the door impatiently. Eriol sighed, "They'll come, do not worry yourself," Eriol stated with much confidence, "But while we wait… tell me what you know of the Tsukishiro family."

"Tsukishiro?" Syaoran asked stiffly, but then relaxed again, "Hm, I don't know much of them. I do know Yukito Tsukishiro is marrying into the Kinomoto family…"

Eriol noted the unhappy expression Syaoran wore. He was obviously not happy about the engagement between Yukito and Sakura Kinomoto. Eriol opened his mouth to comment on it, but Syaoran quickly carried on. "Ah, I think I remember now! The Tsukishiro family currently deals in traditional armory in Japan. Their weaponry is among some of the highest quality weapons found in Eastern Asia."

Eriol nodded and stared up at the ceiling pensively, "I met with him, or more he spoke to me briefly in the gardens this morning, Yukito Tsukishiro… does he not remind you of someone?"

"No one in particular," Syaoran shrugged, "Though there is something about him that makes me feel some sort of familiarity with him. It's strange."

"_He _is strange. Why is it that I sense danger, yet no danger when I go near him?" Eriol demanded, frustrated, "Though I suppose it doesn't matter because I've already concluded that he is of no threat to me, as long as we are not alone together."

"Did you not just say that you were with him this morning in the garden?"

"I wasn't alone."

"But you came home alone."

"I did."

Syaoran paused for a moment thinking over what Eriol had just said. He furrowed his brow and rested he head on his hand; "I can't possibly imagine whom you could have been with so early in the morning. The only other possibility would be if Yukito was with someone from the Daidouji family, where you would still be in danger."

"See? This is what puzzles me!" Eriol bursted out, "I was sitting on a branch above where Tomoyo had fallen asleep and he and To-"

"You mean to say that she was completely vulnerable and you took no advantage of that moment?" Syaoran asked incredulously, "You could have just strangled her or even poisoned her and it would have looked like she breathed in some sort of strange toxin in the garden."

"No one's that stupid to believe such a thing," Eriol snapped, "As I was saying, Yukito came looking for Tomoyo with Touya Kinomoto. Yukito didn't seem to know I was there so I decided not to move. Once Touya took Tomoyo with him, Yukito look straight at me then told me in a courteous manner to go home so not to miss breakfast."

Syaoran grinned finding the story very amusing. He glanced to the side and a vibrantly colored object on the ground caught his eye. He slothfully crawled over to it and picked up a golden teddy bear with white wings and a long tail with a fluffy ball at the end. "It looks kind of pathetic," Syaoran laughed, poking it with his finger.

Eriol observed it for a moment then remembered something from the night before that Meilin had said. _"Oh, I know her. She's the only daughter of the Kinomoto family, um… Sakura. She's weird. She always has that dumb stuffed animal with her and she actually talks to it. Creepy, huh?"_

"Ah, so this is the infamous doll of Sakura Kinomoto," Eriol chuckled, "I actually like it. It has the appearance of something that could be so much more."

"Do you even listen to yourself when you talk? It's absolute madness," Syaoran's eyebrows then arched with surprise, "Th-this belongs to her?"

He turned red and shoved the stuffed animal into Eriol's hands, "It's stupid. Let's get rid of it later."

Eriol was tempted to drop the subject before he caught a glimpse of the change in hue on Syaoran's cheeks. "Or," he smirked, waving the doll in Syaoran's face; "We could give it back to her. I mean, what would Tomoyo say if I were to destroy her dearest cousin's prized possession?"

"Go ahead then," he said trying to sound uninterested, "It's your choice."

"Indeed it is and-"

Eriol was interrupted by the door creaking open behind them. A man and woman walked in hand in hand, both nervous and shaking with fear. Syaoran shot a look over his should and smirked, "Your late Chaoxiang."

Chaoxiang bowed his head, "I apologize; I only received your letter this morning."

Syaoran nodded his head and got up off the floor. Eriol did the same and strolled over to the two, "Would it be alright if I take your mistress for a walk up on the balconies while you two speak in private?"

Chaoxiang nodded unsurely and released the maid's hand. Eriol guided her up the stairs onto the balconies above that surrounded the room. They could still hear Syaoran and Chaoxiang's voices clearly discussing matters from the previous night. The maid stared down at the ground and avoided all contact with Eriol, but obviously this was unacceptable to him. "What's your name?" he murmured quietly so not to disturb the two below.

She gave him a confused look, "I don't understand Japanese."

Recognizing the language she was speaking as Chinese, he nodded and repeated himself again in her language. She seemed surprised that he understood her, "Um, my name is Jia Jia sir."

She opened her mouth again to ask a question but Eriol answered it promptly, "I'm a cousin to the Li Clan; it's only natural that I learn Chinese."

She nodded and began to loosen up, "I apologize for ruining your party last night; it would have been better to settle the dispute back in China but it became a pressing matter that night."

Eriol chuckled, "You don't need to worry, I'm completely fine with it. Parties are usually boring. I'm glad something eventful happened."

"What you did to my sister was unforgivable!" Syaoran's voice suddenly boomed.

Both Eriol and Jia Jia made their way to the balcony's rail and stared down. Eriol looked over Chaoxiang's body, "Is he armed by any chance?"

Jia Jia shook her head and Eriol sighed. He felt the slightest bit of pity for her. It wasn't her fault that she fell in love with him; it just happened. Somewhere in the back of Eriol's head, he hoped that Syaoran would not try to kill Chaoxiang. "I heard you are well trained in fighting," Syaoran started and slowly that hope began to fade away, "We shall resolve our dilemma that way."

Jia Jia's eyes lit up, "Oh, how I love watching Chaoxiang fight. He's very good."

Eriol was about to crush her idea that Chaoxiang had a chance of winning, but was interrupted by a loud yell from Syaoran, who charged at him. What Eriol saw next shocked him. He grinned and leaned over the railing to get a better look at his cousin on his back. Chaoxiang must have been an amazing fighter to floor someone in the Li Clan so easily. Syaoran jumped up to his feet and sized his opponent up. He began throwing punches at Chaoxiang, but he only managed to lie half of them on him. He was very good when it came to evasiveness, however, Eriol was certain that the man would not stand a chance against a Li member's fighting tactics. The Li Clan fought with weapons in battle. It wasn't common to see them fight with their fists. Syaoran backed away realizing that Chaoxiang was only tiring him out. He smirked and pulled out a dagger hidden in one of his sleeves. "That's not fair!" Chaoxiang protested, backing away as well.

"Neither is leaving my sister for a penniless servant," Syaoran retorted, following him.

Jia Jia gasped, realizing that her lover was going to die at the hands of the Li Clan heir. Her hands covered her mouth, and a tear slid down her cheek. "I knew I should have never went along with that girl's plan!" she shook her head violently and ran towards the staircase.

Eriol considered what she said for a second then ran after her, "Wait! Jia Jia! What girl are you talking about?"

"I don't know who she was," she frantically ran down the stairs.

Once she reached the bottom she ran towards the battle. Syaoran held slashed the dagger a couple times but didn't get him. It was very visible that the younger boy was getting frustrated. He held the dagger between his fingers and threw it at his enemy. "Chaoxiang!!!" Jia Jia screamed, running into his arms.

He looked down at her in shock and she let out a strangled squeak. Tears fell from her eyes, "I love you… I love you…"

Tears began to well up in his eyes as his hand ran down her back and was stopped by the dagger deeply planted in her back. "Don't leave me Jia Jia, I love you so much. Please don't die," he begged falling to his knees and holding her tightly to him.

Eriol walked down the stairs and strolled over to his cousin. Syaoran looked confused, "Why did she do that?"

Eriol laughed, "Isn't it obvious? She loved him."

"Is love really that strong of at thing? That someone would actually give their life for the other?"

"It's only natural, she was a slave to his family, but more so a slave to his love. Quite a beautiful thing," Eriol sighed, "When there's love, there's an inseparable bond between two people. When you're in love, there is no one in the world who cares for you more than your partner; no one who thinks about you more than your partner."

Syaoran smirked, "You're so queer."

The two left them alone and went outside so not to get the blame for the bloody mess. They walked around the front lawn. Eriol played with the golden stuffed animal in his hands for a moment, and laughed, "Do you think it's a girl or a boy?"

Syaoran rolled his eyes, "Why do you still have that thing?"

"Because I'm going to get you to return it for me," Eriol grinned mischievously, pushing the stuffed animal into Syaoran's hands.

"No!" Syaoran shouted, "There's no way I will-"

"If you do, I'll give that nickname that you loathe so much a rest."

"Deal!" Syaoran immediately replied shoving the item into his coat pocket.

They were silent for a while, walking down the long sidewalk on the way to the Daidouji house. Eriol pondered a bit during their little break from talking. Something that maid said bothered him. _Someone convinced her to do something. Possibly breaking apart the marriage between Chaoxiang and Feimei? _He frowned remembering the conversation between the two outside before Jia Jia tried to quit. _Someone told her to make him choose knowing that he would choose the one he loved the most, but how would that person have known that Chaoxiang would have chosen Jia Jia over Feimei. No one even noticed that there was even the slightest relationship between the two of them. It had to be someone very close to the Li clan who put that maid up to it. _He rubbed his temples and gave a frustrated sigh, _no that's not it! Jia Jia said it was a girl that she didn't know. The person couldn't have been close to the family if she didn't even know who it was. Why did she have to jump in front of him and die? It would be so simple to extract information from her now about that girl if she were panicked over Chaoxiang's death. _Eriol was stuck. There was no way of finding out who caused this whole mess... for now at least. "Oh, did you hear that Auntie Youko is getting new slaves in tonight?" Syaoran suddenly exclaimed with excitement.

"Interesting," Eriol nodded his head, "From where this time?"

"Eastern Asia, a little towards the South I think," a grin appeared on Syaoran's face as well as Eriol's.

"Isn't that where all the pretty long-haired slaves come from?"

"Yes. Did I tell you last year Auntie gave me one for my birthday?"

Eriol laughed, "Lucky boy, I'm assuming your mother made you give her back?"

"No," Syaoran rolled his eyes, "Meilin did."

Eriol patted Syaoran on the back, "I feel so sorry for you. You have to endure a whole lifetime with such a clingy girl."

"Yeah," he growled, slapping Eriol's hand away, "Well do you want to come tonight? I'm gonna' go take a peek at them."

"Of course, it's a tradition," Eriol replied.

"What is?" a feminine voice asked from behind them.

The two of them looked over their shoulders and saw Tomoyo smiling at both of them. Attached at the hand was Sakura who was trying her best to hide behind her best friend. She peeked around her and caught sight of Syaoran. She let out a surprised squeak and looked away quickly. Syaoran was about to have the same reaction before noticing she was scared. All this time he thought she would be much like her cousin beside her, standing tall and confident in the face of her enemies, but no… she was just a blushing girl hiding from her problems. As this realization processed in his mind, a smile began to grow on his lips. Very similar to his usual smirks, but this time something was different. It wasn't the type of mischievous smile he had whenever he had cornered his prey before killing; it was more like he was amused by what he saw. "Our Aunt Youko is getting in some new… merchandise tonight," Eriol started in a cautious manner, "Since we were little, we've always snuck out so we could have the first look at what she purchased."

Tomoyo nodded, "Merchandise huh? I already know about your Auntie and her slavery. Personally, I'm against it, but whether or not she has slaves is her business not mine… as long as it doesn't interfere with our family, I will continue to look the other way."

"Would you like to come, Miss Tomoyo?" Syaoran suddenly asked. All eyes shot to him who was standing in a relaxed position, glancing at his wristwatch, unconcerned with her answer.

Eriol smirked, _Well played cousin, you think that by inviting Tomoyo to come with us, she'll ask to bring her cousin along. Oh you must be desperate for Sakura Kinomoto's attention. _"Oh, I wouldn't want to intrude," Tomoyo replied politely.

Syaoran glanced up from his watch then glanced at Eriol. He put on the sweetest smile which both surprised and frightened Eriol, "Not at all Miss Tomoyo, in fact, you will be taking my place for I remembered a previous engagement that I have to attend to. Would you please do it to keep Eriol company? Perhaps if I finish up early I can come and join you afterwards."

Eriol's jaw dropped, _so I was wrong. That means my cute little cousin is just trying to manipulate the situation to make me miserable, but why? _"Well I must be leaving," he chimed and waved farewell to them. As he left he smirked at Eriol and patted his coat pocket where there was a tiny lump in the shape of a stuffed animal. _Bastard. _A perfect way to retaliate. Tomoyo laughed, "Well I guess he's left me with no choice. When would you like to leave?"

"Perhaps at eleven? Meet me at the front gates of your home," Eriol gave an exasperated sigh.

Tomoyo furrowed her brow and opened her mouth to say something but stopped when she felt a tug on her arm. "Um…" Sakura started then whispered the rest into her ear.

"Eriol, can Sakura go into your house? She lost Kero and she wants to find-"

"Kero?" Eriol interrupted pretending to be oblivious to what it was.

Tomoyo nodded, "Yes, well it's this yellow-"

"Never mind," Eriol rolled his eyes, "Go ahead Miss Kinomoto. Ah, but not you Tomoyo, I'd prefer you stay out here with me."

Sakura ran off to the house leaving the two to their business. As soon as she entered the house, she bolted down one of the halls anxious to get Kero back. Somewhere in the halls after two rights, a left, and couple more turns that she couldn't remember, she realized that she didn't know her way around the Hiiragizawa mansion. She looked around and found herself surrounded by doors. Any one of them could lead into the room that she was in last night. She reached out and turned one of the doorknobs. She pulled it open slightly and peeked inside. A closet. She sighed and closed the door. She walked over to the door at the end of the hall and opened it a little as well. This time, it was a large room. Not the same one she was in last night, but it was almost just as big. It had a warmer feel to it. There were instruments lined up along the walls and a grand piano at opposite side of the wall with a large window. The room was lit by golden sunlight shining through that window and hit a figure standing in the middle of the room. It was Syaoran Li. Her heart began to beat faster at the sight of him. He walked aimlessly around the room dragging a sheathed sword behind him, seeming rather irritated, "Fucking Eriol."

He placed his sword down delicately and walked over to the piano bench. He shrugged off his coat and placed it on the bench. He began unbuttoning his shirt and Sakura's eyes widened. Button by button, he revealed an amazing body. It was not too muscular, yet not scrawny either. He threw his shirt sloppily at the piano and walked over to his sword. He unsheathed it and began moving it slowly in repetitive motions. Sakura went red and looked away. She had never seen a boy without his shirt before. Well in reality, she had seen paintings and statues but they were all sculpted to perfection which she didn't find appealing at all, the boy before her was... she took another peek at him and brought her hand, placing it over her heart... beautiful. He stopped moving suddenly and stood there for a moment. She wondered what he was doing. His eyes were closed, and his body did not move by the slightest bit, except for his index finger taping to a certain beat against his sword's handle.

_Tap tap... tap tap... tap tap..._

He began moving again, but to that rhythm. His feet would move to the beat while during the pauses he would let his sword glide through the air. His pace would quicken or slow down from time to time, at the most random times. Sakura had seen Yukito train before, but it wasn't as interesting as this. What Syaoran was doing was more like a dance. She went to say something to Kero, but then realized that Kero wasn't with her and that was the reason why she was there. She backed away from the door and walked down the hallway. Her heart was still racing from the image of him training. Why couldn't he have been on the Daidouji family's side? At least that way, she could have gotten to know him. She stopped dead in her tracks feeling the pulse of her heart beneath her hand.

_Ba-bump... ba-bump... ba-bump..._

Could his hearing possibly be that acute? Did he know that she was watching him from the door? She looked around and thought that maybe she could ask him for help getting to her destination. She turned around and gasped as she was quickly pinned against the wall. She looked up at a pair of piercing amber eyes. She felt a cool blade being pressed against her neck. She began to tremble hoping that she wasn't going to be killed. "Please don't," she begged, tears falling from her eyes.

"Huh?" the person in front of her asked in a confused tone then stepped away, "Geez, you should be more careful. Stupid Daidoujis, always snooping around. I thought you were an intruder."

Sakura realized that it was Syaoran who had almost attacked her. He now had his shirt on, but it was still undone. "I... I'm so-sorry," she stammered, wiping the tears from her eyes and looking down at the ground to hide her blush.

He smirked and walked away, "Whatever."

He sighed feeling slightly unimpressed. He wished she would have at least had some backbone to her, but she was just shy all around. "W-wait, I need your help," she squeaked.

Syaoran scoffed, not looking back, "And what makes you think that I would help a Daidouji?" She didn't answer. He turned around and observed her for a moment. He lost all interest completely. She was just another pretty girl. He decided to take advantage of the situation since she was a Daidouji instead; "Well I suppose I could help you, if you offer me something in exchange."

She nodded then smiled weakly, "Um, I'm missing my Kero."

"Eh?" Syaoran scratched his head, "Yellow?"

Sakura frowned and remembered that Japanese wasn't the mother tongue in the Li Clan. He most likely thought she said yellow in Japanese since they sounded alike. She giggled, "No, not yellow. Ah, but Kero is yellow."

Syaoran pondered the phrase for a second then realized what she was talking about. He ran back into the room he was in and grabbed his coat. He returned to her, digging his hand through the pocket, "This?"

He extended to her the small stuffed animal. Her face lit up and she grabbed the stuffed animal, holding it to her tightly. "Kero! Are you okay?" she asked it then looked up at Syaoran, "Thank you very much!" She said brightly.

He noticed an immediate change in character in Sakura. She was no longer shy and scared, but cheerful and energetic. "Oh, Tomoyo and Eriol are going to that slave thing right? Are you going?" she inquired, picking lint off of Kero's head.

Syaoran nodded, registering her new personality into his brain. Her emerald eyes flashed brightly when she looked at him, and he couldn't help but feel intrigued. "Uh, yeah," he replied running his hand through his hair, "I think I'm gonna' go after all. Do you want to go?"

She put her index finger to her chin and looked up at the ceiling, "I think my brother is going with Yukito to meet some people tonight... yes maybe I can go!"

"Okay, I'll see you tonight then," he turned on his heel and went off to go train again.

Sakura nodded and turned the other way, and remembered one very important detail, "Eep, wait! I don't know how to get out!"

Syaoran chuckled and walked ahead of her leading the way. He would occasionally look back and see her skipping along behind him with a happy expression. He looked straight ahead and smiled to himself, she may be on the side of the Daidouji family, but _I like her._

* * *

Tomoyo sighed and stared at the door waiting for Sakura to come out of the Hiiragizawa mansion. She felt worried, knowing that Sakura should not have been left alone. Without Kero, her whole being would sink to an ultimate low and she wouldn't be able to defend herself at all if something happened in there. She turned to the matter at hand. Eriol was lying on the grass and she was sitting not too far from him. She looked up at the sky and closed her eyes, enjoying the rays from the sun warming her skin. She thought of the day when they got 'married'. They were exactly in this position when he asked her. She giggled at the thought. He tilted his head back and gazed at her for a few moments. Something came to mind, _maybe if I... _She smiled and rested her head on her palm, "You wanna' get married?"

Eriol seemed confused and opened his mouth, most likely to say something sarcastic, but then Tomoyo added on, "Don't worry it's just pretend."

Eriol smirked, but said nothing and returned to staring up at the sky. She could see his face from where she was. He looked deep in thought. _I wonder what he's thinking about. Did what I say trigger something in his memory? _They were silent a little longer then Eriol sat up stared at her intently with his beautiful azure eyes. "I can't play with you anymore..." he whispered.

Tomoyo was caught off guard by the comment. It was very strange for him to say. She analyzed what he said quickly but couldn't even find an alternative meaning to it, "I don't under-"

Eriol looked away as though he were reminiscing, "Because you're a Daidouji and I'm a Hiiragizawa."

Next Chapter: _Souvenir_


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